


Betrayal (Danganronpa REWRITE)

by River_Lee



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Original Character(s), danganronpa - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29636544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/River_Lee/pseuds/River_Lee
Summary: This is a neater rewrite of my original Danganronpa story. If you read the original, then you already know what happened so far, but this story will have more dialogue and more scenes.For those who haven't read my original story, this is a story with my OC's (The Ultimate Spy Twins: Akira and Ayato Iwasaki). I will also be mixing characters from all of the Danganronpa games for this story since I thought that would be cool.This story is also on my Wattpad! My username is x_ibukii_x
Kudos: 4





	1. Orientation

Hope's Peak Academy. A prestigious school that gives students who graduate a 100% guarantee that they will be set for a successful life. This is one of the top schools in Japan and everyone wants to go, but the chances of you being accepted without an Ultimate are slim. It is a big deal for an ordinary kid to be accepted through a lottery. There are two types of students at Hope's Peak, one group are the students that take a test to be accepted, and the others are accepted by recommendations. You can be recommended if you have done sports, like any normal school, or if you are super rich and have an amazing Ultimate.

This year, all of the students have been excited for the day they will walk into the doors of Hope's Peak for the first time... Not knowing that behind those doors, they will meet a terrible fate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**_FLASH FORWARDS AFTER THE EVENTS AT HOPE'S PEAK_ **

If you were to ask these students what their experience was like at Hope's Peak, there is no sugar coating. They wouldn't even miss a beat when they tell you what they have witnessed would traumatize them for the rest of their lives. Being a teenager in High School and having to make a choice of Kill or Be Killed, being scared that someone would betray your trust, worrying about someone dying every minute, and watching their friends being "Punished" for having negative thoughts being put into their heads. Who could blame them, they were scared and confused, and for 3 years, they have been treated as rabid animals, so they acted as rabid animals. It was 3 years of never-ending torture that a teenager should never have to experience. Some students would tell you without missing any small detail, others are still shaken up about the events that happened before them, and there are students you can't even ask because they have been murdered in evil and brutal ways, and some were suicides.

After all three years of getting the students out, They were finally set free, but a big group of students was still missing. The police searched around the school for the missing students and ended up finding the bodies in a room that is supposed to be a Biology Lab, frozen and kept inside of the freezers.

**_PRESENT TIME (EVENTS AT HOPE'S PEAK)_ **

You would expect you would start your day with your alarm clock going off early in the morning, reminding you to wake up to start the day. You would roll out of bed and the second your feet hit the floor, you are taken aback by how cold it is. You would do your morning routine, and when it's time to leave, you would walk out the door and see the bright blue sky, and the sun shining brightly. You would expect you would walk into your respective classroom, and greet all of your friends. But that was not the case for the students at Hope's Peak Academy, specifically the Ultimate Spy Twins, Akira Iwasaki, and Ayato Iwasaki.

All they could remember is walking into the doors at Hope's Peak and blacking out the second they walk into the main hall exactly at 7:30 am. By the time they woke up, It was 8:05 am. They were supposed to go to Orientation and were passed out for half an hour.

"Ugh, my head," Akira mumbled as she rubbed her head. She looked around the room to observe her surroundings. They were in a classroom and the windows were blocked with metal plates. The only thing that made sense for how they got there was if someone were to pick them up and then bring them to the classroom. She saw Ayato trying to remove them but they wouldn't budge. "How long were you at that for? It's clear they're not moving."

"Oh, I see you finally woke up." Ayato smiled at his sister. "I woke up almost 15 minutes ago, so I have been at this for a while."

"Well, we will figure it out later, We are late for the Orientation," Akira mumbled as she rubbed her head, which still hurt.

It wasn't hard to find the gym, it was already 8:10 when they arrived. They opened the doors and saw a group of students already there. A bunch of unfamiliar faces, except for one. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny, Byakuya Togami, a childhood friend to Akira and Ayato. The Iwasaki and Togami family have been working alongside each other for generations, so they were not strangers to each other.

"You two!" A voice boomed in the gym. The boy presented himself, he seemed average in height. You could really point him out since he stands out with his purple hair and red eyes. He is the Ultimate Moral Compass: Kiyotaka Ishimaru. "Your tardiness is unacceptable! Didn't you know that the orientation was supposed to start at 8 o'clock sharp?"

"Hey, sorry we are late, we kinda had a little issue." Ayato smiled. He always sweet-talked his way out of trouble, and it worked every time. "But could you please tone it down a bit, she kinda has a little headache and nobody likes her when she is angry... seriously... No one."

"Yeah, It's not like they are able to control time." A girl with pink hair and pigtails, the Ultimate Fashionista: Junko Enoshima, said. "It's not like they asked to be late."

"I suppose that's true." The boy said. "I apologize for the yelling. But please be on time next time."

"We're sorry too, we will be on time next time." Ayato smiled.

"Why do we have to apologize?" Akira mumbled. "We did nothing wrong."

"Shut up." Ayato forced through his teeth. "I'm Ayato Iwasaki, and this is my sister Akira."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass," Taka said with confidence.

"Question." A short boy in a dress mumbled, he is the Ultimate Programmer, Chihiro Fujisaki. Akira and Ayato knew he was a boy, even though he had everyone else fooled, no one can fool the twins. "Did you guys wake up in a classroom by yourselves?"

"Yeah," Ayato said.

"Thought so," Chihiro mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Akira asked.

"That is exactly what happened to us." A buff girl with white hair responded. She is the Ultimate Martial Artist: Sakura Ogami.

Akira finally got a look around the room to actually pay attention to the other students' faces. She found a face that she knew all too well. Toko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. Akira was so excited to finally meet her, she kept her composure and walked to her.

"Hey, you're Toko Fukawa, right?" Akira asked and smiled.

"Y-yeah... Why?" Toko asked nervously.

"Akira is a sucker for Fukawa's work." Ayato laughed. "She is a big fan."

"Wait- really?" Toko asked.

"Of course!" Akira smiled. "Your writing is an inspiration to everyone, Fukawa. it amazes me how talented you are!"

"Okay Akira, I know how excited, but jeez. don't scare the poor girl." Ayato said as he put his hand on Akira's shoulder.

"I know, I'm sorry," Akira said.

"T- thank you," Toko mumbled.

"Huh?" Akira asked.

"N- No one has really complimented on my work before." Toko smiled.

"It's no problem. You're great at what you do." Akira smiled.

"Hey Byakuya, how's life been treating you?" Ayato smiled.

"Quite fine. But if we can save conversations for AFTER this orientation, that would be nice." Byakuya said.

"Awe, Togami. What's wrong? Did the family business shove a stick up your ass or were you born with it?" Akira said as she and Ayato laughed. Byakuya rolled his eyes.

"Akira, Language!" Taka yelled from across the gym.

"Wait, you two know this stuck up shit?" A muscular guy asked. He had weird hair which made him stand out. The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader: Mondo Owada. He is the leader of a well-known biker gang in Japan.

"Language!" Taka yelled again.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't call me that." Byakuya rolled his eyes. The Iwasaki twins laughed at what Mondo called him. Byakuya turned towards Akira and Ayato. "I'm even more surprised you didn't recognize these twins from their last name."

"What do you mean?" A girl with long blue hair asked. She is the Ultimate Pop Sensation: Sayaka Maizono. She is part of a girl band that is famous all over Japan.

"The Iwasaki family has worked alongside the Togami family for generations. The Iwasaki's are a family of Ultimate spies, Akira and Ayato will be taking over their family business a couple of years from now." Byakuya said as he turned to face the twins. "I also had to deal with their existence during my childhood."

"Now that you mention it, I believe I have heard of them," Sakura said.

"Wow, Byakuya actually said he knows us. What changed?" Ayato asked as he laughed. Byakuya rolled his eyes.

"Now that we got that out of the way, where is the headmaster?" Byakuya asked. "Orientation is supposed to start."

"Well, while we wait, we could introduce ourselves to the Spy Twins." A boy with orange hair said. "The names Leon Kuwata."

"Nice to meet you." Ayato smiled as he held out his hand for a handshake. Leon shook his hand.

"Woah, dude." Akira stared at Leon in amazement. "Nice piercings."

"Oh, thanks." Leon smiled.

"What's your Ultimate?" Akira asked.

"I am the Ultimate Baseball Star. But I don't really enjoy it." Leon said. "I barely went to any of the practices."

Akira and Ayato tilt their heads like confused dogs. If an Ultimate is a talent, then why would someone not enjoy something they are good at?

"Why don't you like it?" Akira asked, already amused by Leon's backstory. It could be a spy intuition, or her just being nosy. No one really knows, and no one really minds it. Ayato even noticed Akira was getting over-excited again. He left her alone since it's not every day they go out and meet people. Plus, all their life, they have been homeschooled. This is their first year in an actual school.

"I dunno, I only did it because teachers and coaches were begging me to," Leon said. "I guess the only good thing I got out of it was the fact that I got accepted into Hope's Peak without needing to take a test."

"Well... What do you want to do?" Akira asked.

"Well... I kinda wanna be a musician," Leon said. "You know... starting a band and all that stuff."

"Are you any good?" Ayato asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty good," Leon said.

"Oh, I am actually friends with the Ultimate Musician!" Akira smiled. "Her name is Ibuki Mioda. You two should totally meet sometime, she could help you make that band you want!"

"Wait, seriously?" Leon asked, almost surprised. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course." Akira smiled.

"That wouldn't be a problem, but there is one thing you are neglecting," Byakuya said as he crossed his arms.

"What?" Ayato asked.

"You know what I'm talking about Akira?" Byakuya asked. Akira thought for a minute until it finally clicked.

"You're talking about the windows right?" Akira asked.

"Exactly. All of the windows are blocked with metal plates and there seems to be no way out."

"What are you getting at?" Ayato asked.

"Seems like we can tell that Akira is slightly brighter than Ayato." A boy with light brown hair said. He seems plain. Nothing about him stands out. What is his Ultimate? Akira remembered doing research on him, but nothing about his Ultimate came up. You can only infer he got accepted through a lottery.

"Hey!" Ayato yelled, pretending to be offended. "Who are you again?"

"Makoto Naegi." The boy said. "I got accepted through the lottery."

"Oh, makes sense," Ayato said. "Wait, so all windows are boarded up... not just the ones in that classroom we woke up in?"

"It would appear so," Byakuya said. Everyone fell into a panicked silence, trying to understand what was going on. Suddenly they heard a voice on the stage.

"What the hell is that?" Mondo asked. Suddenly a bear jumped up and revealed itself.

"Greeting Students! I am your headmaster... Monokuma." The bear said.

"A teddy bear?" Chihiro asked.

"Not a teddy bear." The bear said. "Monokuma."

"This is weird," Makoto mumbled.

"Yeah, no kidding," Akira said.

"Yes, Yes, like nothing you've ever seen before. Uncanny, Unsettling even." Monokuma babbled. "Anyway, welcome you bright young things to your new living quarters. Now, before you get all uppity, rest assured it's for your own good. Mustn't let the outside world dull that dazzling inner spark. We got to keep that freshness sealed in! You will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school."

Everyone's faces turned from confusion to terror. They were stuck in a building with no way out.

"Ah, now then... regarding the end date for this communal life," Monokuma said as he looked at everyone's terrified faces. "There isn't one! you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned."

"Wh-What did he just say? Until the day we d-die...?" Toko asked, already petrified.

"Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences." Monokuma said. AS IF that will make the situation any better.

"That's the least of our worries right now!" Sayaka yelled. "What if we have families?"

"Yeah, what the hell? You're saying I have to live here forever?" Junko asked. "You're screwing with us, right?

Ayato turned to Akira. As her brother, he knew her well. It didn't matter if she had a tough look on her, he knew on the inside, she was scared. Your first day of High School is supposed to be full of hope, you're supposed to make friends and have a good time. Not for the next three years of your life to be filled with despair.

"I am not screwing with you! I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure." Monokuma said. "Ah, and just for your information...you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about that dirty, dirty land beyond these walls ever again!"

"Cut off...? So all those metal plates all over the school..." Makoto's voice shook. "They're there to keep us trapped in here?"

"That's exactly what they're there for. No matter how much you may yell and scream for help...help will not come." Monokuma said. Everyone froze. He made it clear that there is no way out and that they are trapped there until they die. "So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"

"Come on, what the hell is this?" Leon asked. He was trying to dismiss what he was hearing as a joke, but you can tell with the look on his face, he was scared and confused like everyone else. "I don't care if the school or whoever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke."

"Yeah! Cut this shit out!" Mondo yelled. "It isn't funny anymore!"

"You keep saying this is a lie or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you. " Monokuma laughed. "But I guess you can't help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbor... Well, you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."

"Having to live here forever would be...quite the problem." A voice said. It was Celestia Ludenburg, the Ultimate Gambler. She is basically a legend. Any bet she made with anybody... she never lost.

"Come, now. What's the matter with all of you? You decided on your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave?" Monokuma asked. "Oh, but you know... I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There _is_ one way for you to leave the school..."

" R-Really...?" Toko asked. She seemed relieved that there was a way to escape.

"Enlighten us," Byakuya said. Seems like he is still as demanding as he used to be last time Akira and Ayato saw him. Of course, their family businesses work alongside each other and have built trust between them. Byakuya and the twins even became friends since their families trust each other so much, but they both have their own things to do. So they haven't gotten some time to reconnect. It would be nice to meet again outside, or maybe something more pleasant than being trapped in a school. Byakuya may not look like it, but Akira and Ayato are the closest things that he can tolerate, and call them his 'friends'.

"As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it...the Graduation Clause!" Monokuma said. "Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!"

"What do you mean by 'disrupt the harmony'?" Byakuya asked. He probably had a good idea what Monokuma was going to say, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"Puhuhu... Well, you know... If one person were to murder another."

"M-Murder!?" Makoto asked. Now everyone was freaking out and trying to register what they heard.

"Puhuhu. I bet _that_ got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know... Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair." Monokuma started laughing at the students' terror. "And I just find that so...darn...exciting!"

Leon saw Ayato trying to calm down Akira. This isn't the first time they heard something along the lines of murder, but now that they are experiencing it for themselves... it's terrifying, especially the fact they are trapped in a school, they are the only students in the building, which seems off... and they have to murder someone to get out. Although they just met, it seems like they have known each other for quite some time. It didn't matter to Leon if he just met them less than thirty minutes ago, Akira decided to help him with his dream in music, and now he will return the favor to make sure she and everyone else gets out without needing to resort to murder.

"What the hell are you talking about!? To kill each other is...It's!" Leon tried to get out. It was no secret to everyone that he was scared just like them. Hell, for all he knows... this could all be a dream, and when they wake up, Hope's Peak Academy will be normal and will be exactly what everyone said it is. But sadly... they know that this is the reality they are living in. And they will have to accept that.

"To kill each other is to kill each other. I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it." Monokuma gave a smart-ass comment.

"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to kill each other!?" A girl asked. Her name is Aoi Asahina. She usually goes by Hina. She is the Ultimate Swimming Pro.

"Yeah! Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!" A frantic male voice called out. His name is Hifumi Yamada. He is the Ultimate Fanfic Creator/ Dōjin Author.

"..Blabbering?" Monokuma asked. "Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it, do you? 'Let us go, let us go!' You keep on saying the same thing over and over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!"

"Alright, come on... How long are you gonna keep this up?" A dude asked. Yasuhiro Hagakure. He is the Ultimate Fortune Teller.

"Eh?" Monokuma asked, pretending to be confused.

"You got us, okay? You scared the hell out of us. So you can go ahead and reveal the trick now." Yasuhiro said as he tried to laugh it off as a joke.

"Reveal the trick...?" Monokuma asked again, keeping up the dumb act.

"Yeah, cuz I mean... Y'know, this is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like..." Yasuhiro's voice trailed off as he got interrupted.

"Dude shut the hell up and get outta my way," Mondo said as he shoved Yasuhiro aside. He walked towards Monokuma and placed himself down to meet the bear's level. His voice rumbled like thunder. "Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!? Keep this shit up and you will be victim number one!"

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?" Monokuma asked. Mondo growled as he stood up and grabbed Monokuma from the floor in one swift motion, one hand on Monokuma's neck, holding him in the air."

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds until there is nothing left but what is making you jabber!"

"Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!" Monokuma yelled as he shook himself frantically.

"Shut the fuck up!" Mondo roared. "Let me outta here, or I swear to Christ..."

Monokuma suddenly went silent. Everyone looked around the room confused. All of a sudden, the bear started beeping.

"What, no smartass comeback this time!?" Mondo asked. There was still nothing but a beep. "Stop that goddamn beeping and SAY SOMETHING!"

"Watch out! Get rid of it!" A girl yelled out. Her name is Kyoko Kirigiri. Not much is known about her.

"Huh...?" Mondo asked.

"Hurry up and throw it!" Kyoko yelled.

No one knows if her ferocity stunned him into silence or what, but without a word, he did what he was told. He threw Monokuma. And as soon as he did, Monokuma exploded. Almost everyone flinched.

"The hell!? Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up..." Mondo yelled.

There was a terrible ringing in everyone's ears. The whole room smelled like gunpowder.

"What the fuck? did that just happen?" Akira asked.

"This means that the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?" Chihiro asked.

"Well the creepy-ass bear is gone so we can just leave," Ayato said. Everyone turned away from the stage and stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the same bone-chilling voice.

"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" Monokuma yelled.

"Uwah! There's another one...?" Leon asked.

"You son of a bitch! You seriously tried to kill me just now!" Mondo yelled.

"Well, yes. I was serious about trying to kill you. You did violate one of the school regulations, after all." Monokuma said. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with just a little swat on the butt."

"H-Hey... So does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around here somewhere?" Junko asked.

"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes. Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere." Monokuma said. "And if you're caught breaking any rules, well... you all just saw what happened, right?"

There were cameras all around the school. And a good majority of them had guns attached to them. That's probably whoever is behind the cameras, they will have the opportunity to get rid of someone not following the "Rules" if Monokuma wasn't around to deal with them himself.

"Puhuhu... And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time." Monokuma said. "So don't let it happen again!"

"Th-That's not even punishment. That's just...wrong..." Hina said, stuttering on her words.

"Now then, lastly... To commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you..." Monokuma said as he grabbed a box full of something that looked like digital notebooks. "This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh? As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it... The e-Handbook!"

Everyone gathered around to grab their e-Handbook.

"Ahem. Yes, well, moving on... This handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one!" Monokuma said. Everyone started turning on the e-Handbook and saw their names Bold and in the middle of the screen, just like Monokuma said. "Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that! Also, it's completely waterproof. Splash it, wash it, drown it, it'll keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant! It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly!"

So going off of what Monokuma said, you wouldn't have to worry about your e-Handbook breaking since it's resistant to basically everything. They are quite small so you must keep your eye on them often like a new phone.

"You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated," Monokuma said. "Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators. Okay, well...that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And...see ya!"

And just like that, Monokuma was gone. He left right before anyone could ask any questions. The gym fell silent. Everyone felt mixed emotions of terror, and confusion. Akira did nothing but stare intensely at her e-Handbook.

"So, guys... How would you define what we just experienced?" Kiyotaka asked everyone.

"How...? Why...? I don't understand any of this..." Leon mumbled.

"We have to l-live here forever...? Or...k-kill?" Toko asked. "Wh-What...? What just happened!?"

" Everyone, we need to just calm down," Kyoko said. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices. Choice number one is that we each stay here, living a "communal life" together until the day we die. And the other choice is..."

" If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?" Celestia asked.

"But...killing someone... That's..." Chihiro couldn't finish his sentence. He immediately started crying.

"We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school. And now we're supposed to start killing each other? This is..." Hifumi tried to gather the right words to describe the situation they are in. But he couldn't think of anything. "This is...this is just...! What IS this!?"

"A lie is what it is. All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!" Kiyotaka said, not believing what he heard either.

"Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake. What matters is..." Byakuya stopped and looked around at each individual student. "Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this...?"

No one answered his question. They all stayed quiet and looked at each other. They all just met this morning, so it would be hard to guess what anyone was thinking. Any chance that Akira and Ayato had at making new friends was ruined. They both started doubting their peers along with themselves... along with Byakuya, who they have known for years. It would be ridiculous to doubt your childhood friend. But being in a desperate situation can make you do the unthinkable. Everyone was forced to wonder...

" **_Was somebody going to betray us?"_**

And that's how the students at Hope's Peak Academy started their school year... A year that was supposed to raise their hopes high... turned into something on the brink of despair.


	2. Investigate The School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students of Hope's Peak get trapped inside of a killing game. They are now exploring around their new "Living - Quarters"

_"You must kill someone if you want to leave."_ That phrase was stuck in everyone's mind. Everyone was paralyzed in fear, worried someone may betray them and actually consider what Monokuma said. The air felt heavy, it was almost hard to breathe. It took everything Akira and the others had just to endure that weight... But for as heavy as the air felt... all it took to pierce it was her sharp words.

"So? What are you going to do now?" Kyoko asked. "Just stand around glaring at each other?"

Her pointed comment was directed at everyone in the room. It helped pull them back to reality. She was right. Nothing is going to be figured out and dealt with if they all stood there doing nothing.

"R-Right... She's right!" Taka said in his signature loud voice. "Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward! To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed! Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!"

"Jesus. If you have time to yell about it, you have time to DO something about it." Mondo growled and rolled his eyes. That just made Kiyotaka even more frantic

"Taka, calm down," Ayato said in an attempt to calm down the boy. "We are going to find a way out of here."

"Ayato is right. If we want out of here, we need to do something and we need to do it now." Akira said as she looked at every last one of her classmates. "We are not going to get anywhere if we start arguing and doubting each other."

"Perhaps you're right, but...what is the mission, exactly?" Hifumi asked.

"Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!" Leon said.

"And we totally need to find out whoever was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em," Junko said.

"B-But before we do all that, maybe we should take a look at the handbook... It's probably best to check out the school regulations Monokuma mentioned before doing anything else." Chihiro mumbled.

"True. If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again..." Celestia said, referring to Monokuma exploding on Mondo.

"Shit..." Mondo mumbled under his breath.

"Fine." Junko sighed. "Then let's hurry up and check out the stupid rules already."

Everyone turned on their e-Handbooks. Of course like always- their names will be the first thing they see when the digital notebook is turned on. They tapped on the "School Regulations" icon and read through the rules. They would seem like your normal rules you hear in a normal school building, but these are on a whole other level of oppression:

Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time."Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is the destruction of surveillance cameras.Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.

Akira rolled her eyes at the rules. They were ridiculous. She looked up from her screen and saw everyone else's faces- they were full of anger. Especially Mondo, but knowing him for about an hour, you would guess that being an angry-looking person would be natural for him, but he seems more than pissed off. She then looked at Ayato and noticed he was screwing around with the e-Handbook. He seemed a bit pissed too, so it's safe to assume he read through the rules but he just chose to ignore them. That is usually the type of guy he is, he marches to the beat of his own drum.

"Not gonna lie- I really like these e-Handbooks. They are kinda cool." Ayato smiled.

"Off-topic Ayato." Byakuya and Akira said in unison.

"Oh sorry- these rules are bullshit." Ayato started pouting.

"This is bullshit!" Mondo agreed. "What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!"

"Well then, why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens?" Celestia suggested, "Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules."

"But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a re-spawn waiting for him..." Hifumi said.

"I agree with the tub of lard," Ayato whispered to Akira, only for her to elbow him in the ribs. Ayato held his waist and groaned in pain.

"I- Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my older brother pounding this into my head... When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him." Mondo said. No one was understanding what he was saying.

"...So what?" Junko asked.

"I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's 'so what'!" Mondo rolled his eyes. "So I can't afford to die here!"

"None of that made much sense to me, but you are saying you will follow the regulations, is that it?" Celestia asked.

"Huh? Oh, well...yeah, I guess you're right" Mondo said.

" Hey, um...I have a question." Sayaka said. "For regulation number six...what do you think it means exactly?"

"You're talking about the second half, right?" Makoto asked. "Where it says 'unless they are discovered'? I was wondering about that myself."

"It's saying that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you," Byakuya said.

"B-But why...?" Toko asked. "Why do we h-have to do that?"

"I don't see any reason to worry about it. Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us." Byakuya said. "Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them."

"D-Don't jab at me..." Toko mumbled

"No, I'd call that a slight shank," Akira said.

"More like a full-on stab..." Leon said. Ayato and Akira slapped their hands on their mouths to try not to laugh.

"Well, for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever," Hina said. "Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!"

"True. We need to find out exactly where we are." Taka said. "Is there any way out? What about food and supplies? There are tons of questions we need to answer!"

"Damn straight!" Leon said. "Okay, then let's all start looking around!"

"I'll be going alone," Byakuya said. Everyone gasped in confusion.

"What!? Why?" Junko asked. "That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?"

"That's a pretty dumb choice dude," Leon said. "I figured you will go with Ayato and Akira since you know them so well."

"Someone here might already have started thinking about murdering one of us. Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?" Byakuya asked. "Even Akira and Ayato."

Ayato and Akira furrowed their eyebrows at Byakuya. It would make sense that he is thinking that they were too. But just to come right out and say it was a bit harsh.

"W-Wait, hold on a second. That would never--!" Sayaka tried to speak, but Byakuya interrupted her.

"Don't bother saying it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you." Byakuya said as he crossed his arms. "Am I wrong?"

"B-But......" Sayaka mumbled.

"So, I'm simply acting in accordance with what I think is best for me," Byakuya said as he walked towards the exit to the gym. He almost made it to the door until Mondo ran in front of him, blocking his way.

"Hold on!" Mondo yelled. "Like hell, I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!"

"Out of my way, plankton," Byakuya said, looking up at Mondo.

"Knock it off, Byakuya," Akira warned Byakuya, but it's not like he will listen. Even Mondo ignored Akira. Though the warning was directly stated towards Byakuya, it is quite obvious that the warning was also indirectly for Mondo.

"Wh--!? The fuck's that supposed to mean!?" Mondo yelled.

"One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea," Byakuya said. He is speaking as if he is untouchable. "So minuscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence on the boundless ocean"

"Dude, for real, you should stop," Ayato yelled towards Byakuya, but again, none of the boys were listening. All of a sudden, Makoto ran to try to break up the fight.

"Oh, your paranoia is gonna be right-on," Mondo yelled at Byakuya. "I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"S-Stop it! We shouldn't fight!" Makoto said. "Akira is right, fighting will get us nowhere."

"The fuck you just say?" Mondo asked. "You some kinda goody-goody little bitch? Who do you think you are, talkin' to me like that? You think you're my fuckin' dad or something!?"

"N-No, I wasn't--!" Makoto tried to justify himself.

"Mondo! That's enough!" The twins yelled in unison. But no matter how much they try, Mondo wouldn't listen.

"Shut up!" Mondo yelled as his fist collided with Makoto's face. Everyone gasped and ran towards the scene. Hina, Sayaka, and Sakura were kneeled down next to Makoto, while Akira, Ayato, and the others were with Mondo and Byakuya.

"Really, Mondo? He was just trying to help." Ayato said as he pointed towards Makoto, who was out cold.

"He should have minded his own business," Mondo mumbled.

"In a situation like this, it's everyone's business," Akira said as she rolled her eyes. She then turned to Byakuya. "And you don't know when to keep your mouth shut, don't you? Nice going asshole, You could have ended up like Makoto."

"Yeah, man. You need to control what you say." Ayato said. "I know you're gonna brush this whole situation off, but at least think before you go running your smart ass mouth."

"Whatever," Byakuya said.

"Mondo, make an effort to talk to Makoto when he wakes up," Akira growled.

"Fine," Mondo mumbled.

"Well, I guess we got that settled," Akira said as she walked towards the unconscious boy. "What are we going to do about him?"

"I remember passing by a hallway that leads to the dormitory," Sakura said. "I'll put him in a dorm."

"Okay, nice," Akira said. "Let's search around and we will meet back at the dining hall in a couple of hours."

Sakura and Hina picked up Makoto and walked to the dormitory hall. The others split up around the school to search for a way out. Byakuya, Kiyotaka, and Kyoko went off on their own. Leon, Junko, Yasuhiro, and Chihiro searched together. Hina, Sakura, and Mondo grouped together. Celestia, Toko, and Hifumi were left so they grouped together as well. That left Akira and Ayato to go on their own investigation. The stairways were blocked off so there wasn't really anywhere to investigate besides the first floor. Ayato and Akira walked through different hallways and found a room that seems to look like an AV room. There were tables that had individual computers and one big screen in the front of the room. There didn't seem to be anything important around there so they just left. They spent the next few hours covering the entire school, then they walked towards the dining hall, and saw Sayaka already walking out.

"Hey, Sayaka!" Akira called out.

"Oh, hey guys." Sayaka smiled. "Did you find anything?"

"We were searching through different rooms, but we couldn't really find anything," Ayato said. "Some rooms were locked too so that limited our chances of getting out even more. There may be an exit in there that Monokuma doesn't want us to know about or something."

"That could be a possibility," Sayaka said. "I was just going to check on Makoto since it's been a couple of hours."

"Oh yeah, we need to catch him up with what's going on," Akira said. "Well, we will leave you to it."

"See you guys later." Sayaka waved as she walked off.

Akira and Ayato walked into the dining hall and already saw everyone else there.

"Ah, the Iwasaki Twins!" Taka smiled. "Glad you could make it. You two are right on time! We are gonna wait for Sayaka and Makoto, then we could begin the meeting."

"Well those two don't seem quite happy," Leon said. "Lemme guess, you didn't find anything?"

"We searched the whole floor and couldn't find a way out." Akira groaned as she sat in an empty seat. "We even searched some of the rooms and still NOTHING."

"I, too, have found nothing useful," Byakuya said. "Also no clues on who the mastermind behind this may be."

"Well, hopefully, whatever you three DID find, will turn up useful later on," Taka said, always seeming optimistic. "Let's see what the others figured out."

Just as Taka said that Makoto and Sayaka walked into the dining hall.

"Oh, there's the man of the hour!" Hina said. "Are you okay?

"Sure am." Makoto smiled as he went to sit down. The only empty seat left was next to Mondo. "Never been better."

"So, let's chalk this whole thing up to stress," Mondo said. Akira slapped her forehead. It's not the best apology for punching a guy out of stress and anger, but that will do.

"Oh yeah... No worries Mondo." Makoto said. "I mean, we are all on edge. Tempers flare up sometimes."

"Continuing on the conversation, I doubt any of us would kill in front of witnesses," Celestia said. "That is to say, under present circumstances 'Safety In Numbers' would seem to hold true."

"Right! Listen up!" Taka said. "I hereby call to order the first Hope's Peak High School Reconnaissance Committee Briefing on Academy Affairs. Let's review the present state of our Intel. And remember, all cards on the table!"

"I kicked at that stupid door for an hour, and nothing!" Mondo said. "Didn't leave so much as a dent. The thing's as hard as metal."

"It is metal, so that makes sense," Celestia said.

"At the end of the main corridor, we found a stairwell leading to an upper floor," Sakura said.

"But the security gate was down and we couldn't get it to budge," Hina adds.

"We went all up and down the school, double-checking the windows in all the hallways and classes," Junko said. "We wanted to see if we could get any of those metal plates to come off. And what happened was..."

"Nothing. Not a damn thing." Leon said. "We couldn't get a single one to budge even a little bit."

"So, I guess it's safe to confirm our suspicion that there is no way out, right?" Ayato asked, looking at Akira. Akira looked across the table and saw Chihiro nervous. They can't afford to have him cry again.

"I guess so," Akira mumbled. "But there are still so many parts of the school that are blocked off, so we'll just have to find a way to get to those areas."

"I see," Kyoko said. "It is interesting that certain areas of the facility are evidently out of bounds for the time being."

"This sucks..." Junko mumbled, then her panicking started getting a little bit louder. "It _really_ sucks! It sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! What the hell are we gonna do!?"

"Goddamn, calm down! You're starting to make me nervous!" Leon said.

"The dorm rooms are actually quite nice," Hifumi said. "Firm beds, good lighting, stylish decor. Except for the iron plates and surveillance cameras, I'd give them five stars."

"Continuing on about the dorm rooms, Chihiro and I found out that all the rooms are totally soundproof," Junko said.

"Your next-door neighbor could scream their lungs out, and you wouldn't hear a thing..." Chihiro mumbled.

"Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us," Mondo said. "They're assuming we're gonna be here a while..."

"Well, better to have than have not!" Taka said. "At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals."

"Th-That can't be all you have to r-report, can it Mr. Honor S-Student?" Toko asked. Taka sat and thought for a moment.

"That's all for my report! Let's move on to whoever's next!" Taka said.

"Earlier, Chihiro and I decided to search around the kitchen," Sayaka said.

"There is enough food to feed an army," Chihiro said. "Safe to say, we won't go hungry."

"Surely there is not enough to feed fifteen people for the rest of their lives?" Hifumi asked.

"No, there is," Sayaka said.

"The fridge gets restocked every day according to how much we've eaten a day prior," Chihiro said. "Monokuma told us so."

"Huh?" Leon asked.

"You saw him?" Junko asked.

"He popped up out of nowhere while we were looking in the fridge, then disappeared before we could see where he went," Sayaka said.

"Anything else to report?" Taka asked.

"Here is a report," Toko said sarcastically. "We're still in the dark about who is behind all of this, and we're still trapped. This investigation was a waste of time."

"No, some useful information was gleaned from our joint effort," Celestia said. "We now know the boundaries of our confinement. And that we will be here for a while."

"Ugh, I was trying not to think about that." Toko wined.

"Monokuma's made that perfectly clear," Byakuya said. "From where else should the incentive come for us to kill?"

Everyone gasped and looked at Byakuya.

"That's not something to joke about!" Junko yelled.

"Seriously, Byakuya," Akira said. "Don't even mention that. Killing isn't an option no more."

"Then what _can_ we do?" Leon asked.

"Adapt, I suppose," Celestia said.

"What?" Junko asked.

"These aren't such bad arrangements," Celestia said. "All we can do is adapt. Adapt to living our lives here from now on."

"Live here...? Are you saying we should just accept it?" Chihiro asked.

"A lack of adaptability...is a lack of survivability. Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt." Celestia said. She isn't wrong, but she isn't right either. "As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion."

"And what will that be?" Mondo asked.

"You will note in the rules a designated curfew," Celestia said. "Why not make an addendum to these so-called 'Night Hours'?"

"Like what exactly?" Junko asked.

"At night, we all stay in our rooms," Celestia said. "Simple as that."

"What?" Toko asked. "What would even be the point?"

"Think about it my dears," Celestia said. "Given this predicament, the dark hours will be especially hard for our nerves as it is. The tiniest sound will persuade us of foulness afoot."

"So you're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure," Sakura said.

"However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it." Celestia said.

"I see what you mean. But...I think I can agree with that." Junko said. "It's just like the little goth lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct."

"On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!" Taka said.

"Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!" Leon yelled.

"I also agree with this rule," Akira said.

"So everyone is in agreement?" Celestia asked. "Good. Then, if you will excuse me..."

Celestia got up and walked away from the table

"Huh? Wait, where are you going?" Chihiro asked.

"It is almost nighttime," Celestia said. "I want to take a shower before it arrives. So...goodbye"

" S-So I guess it's pretty obvious where we go from here," Hifumi said. "We'll be spending the night, it looks like."

"Adaptability..." Sakura said.

"So, Mr. Chairman...what next?" Junko asked. "One person already left."

"U-Umm... Well then, let's call an end to today's meeting." Taka said. "As she said, it's almost night time anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Do we really have to stay the night here...?" Chihiro asked.

"We don't have a choice," Junko said. "We can't go for long without getting some sleep."

"So we have to just give up..." Mondo said.

"That's all f-fine and good for t-today, but what do we d-do tomorrow?" Toko asked

"Our only option is to split up and look around again, and let everyone know if we find anything," Sakura said.

"Yeah, okay," Hina said. "Let's do that...!"

"Then we're done for today?" Junko asked. "Good, I'm exhausted..."

Slowly everyone got up and went to their respective dorms, and the only ones left were Sayaka, Makoto, Akira, and Ayato.

"Makoto... Are you ready to call it a day?" Sayaka asked.

" Yeah, let's go," Makoto said as he and Sayaka left.

"Well, I'm gonna go too," Akira said as she stood up. "Let's go Ayato."

Ayato stood up and followed Akira out of the Dining hall and into the Dormitory. Each door has a nameplate with everyone's name. Akira finally found her room, she was next door to Ayato.

"Despite the rule, Celeste made about staying in our rooms during night time, let me know if you need anything or if anything happens," Akira said.

"Okay, same to you," Ayato said. "Good night."

Akira smiled and walked into her room, immediately locking the door behind her. The room was pretty big, and of course, Hifumi was right, there was a camera over the bed. Invasion of privacy much. Nighttime isn't until 10 pm and it's 9:30 pm so Akira decided to take a shower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Akira's shower, it was exactly 10 pm. Then a loud noise came from the speaker.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement." The voice said. No mistaking it. It is Monokuma's voice. "It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially night time. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.."

Akira rolled her eyes and got dressed for bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akira woke up the next day. She isn't dead. Is someone dead? There was only one way to find out.

"Good morning, everyone!" A loud voice came from the speaker. It was the only voice that could give Akira chills. Monokuma. "It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

Akira groaned and got out of bed. She jumped in the shower and did the other parts of her morning routine. Hopefully, Ayato was up. She would have to go check since she always had to wake him up in the morning. She walked out of her room, making sure to lock it. She walked to Ayato's room and knocked on the door.

"Ayato. Wake up." Akira said as she knocked on the door. No response. This time she knocked louder. "Ayato get your ass up!"

Finally, the door opened. Ayato was already awake?

"I heard you the first time!" Ayato yelled.

"Oh, so you're already awake?" Akira asked. "Usually I would have to wake you up."

"Who could sleep well with that dumb ass bear screaming in your ear?" Ayato asked as he walked out of his room and walked down the hallway. He then tried to mimic Monokuma's voice. "It is now 7 am. Time for a Beeeeeeeutifulllllll day!"

Akira laughed. All of a sudden, the bear appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey! I do not sound like that!" Monokuma yelled.

"Holy shit!" Akira yelled. "You can't keep doing that!"

"How did you even know we were here and what we are talking about?" Ayato asked.

"I have eyes and ears all around the school!" Monokuma said. "And keep being disrespectful, boy I will have to punish you."

"What are you gonna do, huh?" Ayato asked. "Are you gonna blow up again?"

"I can do more than exploding, young man!" Monokuma said. "You better watch yourself!"

"The rule was I couldn't be violent towards you," Ayato said. "It never said I couldn't talk shit."

"Um..." Monokuma couldn't think of a comeback.

"Awe, did I hurt your robot feelings?" Ayato asked. "You're a fucking robot you have no feelings! You're just a stupid machine."

"That's robophobic." Akira laughed.

"Trust and believe I will find out who you really are," Ayato said. "And then I will make sure this place burns to the ground."

The hallway was silent for a while. And then Monokuma started laughing.

"Wow, the rumors were true!" Monokuma continued to laugh. "You Iwasaki's are scary!"

And with that, he left without a trace.

"Nice going asshole," Akira said. "We are gonna have our asses handed to us."

"Hey, we are in a school with like 15 other students," Ayato said. "Someone is bound to betray us, and what are the chances that they would kill us before anyone else? Because I'll tell you something, we could be befriending one of those Ultimate's, and one of them could be planning a way to kill us right now."

"I'm glad that even for an imbecile, you are thinking the same way as I am." A voice said. The twins turned around, and it was none other than Byakuya.

"Oh, Hey Byakuya." Ayato waved. "So you actually think someone may or may not kill one of us?"

"It's no secret that someone in this very building has considered killing another student," Byakuya said. "But have you stopped to think that one of us could be the mastermind?"

"Well no," Akira said. "Have you seen those kids? Do they honestly seem like the type of students to plan something like this?"

"That might be what they want you to think," Byakuya said as he turned around. "But don't quote me on it, it's best to keep this to ourselves for the time being. Meet me in my dorm and we will discuss more on this situation."

Before they could respond, Byakuya already left.

"Hey, you two!" A voice said behind them. They turned around. It was Leon.

"Oh, hey man." Ayato greeted Leon.

"I don't mean to be a pest, but what was Byakuya talking about?" Leon asked. "What did he mean by figuring out who the Mastermind is?"

"We personally think that we should pick everyone's brains about this but we can't give out too much information away," Akira said. "But the three of us think that it's only a matter of time before someone betrays us. And Byakuya thinks that one of us is the mastermind behind this whole thing."

"All though... Jumping into conclusions is his thing, we don't agree with it." Ayato said. "But then again. To him, you either with him or completely against him. No in-between."

"So who do you think it is?" Leon asked.

"That's what we don't know yet," Akira said. "But if we do find something, any and all information is confidential until we are 100% sure."

"That's understandable," Leon said. "But I want nothing more than to get out of here, so please let me know if you guys need help with this."

"Will do man!" Ayato said. "See you later."

Leon waved as he walked away. The hallway was quiet once again. Sayaka and Mokoto walked by them shortly after.

"Oh, hey guys." Sayaka smiled.

"Hey-oh wow," Ayato said. "What's up with the katana?"

"Sayaka wanted something to use as self-defense since she is nervous someone might betray us," Makoto said. "There wasn't really anything useful around except for this."

"Cool, can I see?" Ayato asked.

"Sure but be careful," Makoto said. "The gold on here rubs off."

"Oh, Interesting," Ayato said. "You might want to keep that close. If that gets in the wrong hands, we are screwed."

"I'll keep that in mind," Makoto said. "Well, we gotta go. We will see you guys around later."

"Bye." Akira and Ayato waved at them as they walked away.

"You wanna go see what there is in the kitchen?" Ayato asked Akira. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, sure," Akira said.

They walked into the kitchen and found some of the breakfast foods, or anything that seemed good to them. The dining hall was quite empty. Everyone is probably off searching around the school again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That whole day, everyone picked up where they left off with the search. Of course, they didn't find anything. Akira and Ayato decided to take a break and head back to the dining hall since there was nothing else to do. On their way there, they found a room that was labeled as "School Store" so they decided to go in and check it out. The room had a bunch of stuff everywhere from ugly paintings to gumball machines.

"He even has his own merchandise..." Akira said. "I suddenly feel extremely uncomfortable."

"Yeah..." Ayato said. "It is almost night time, so we should head to Byakuya's dorm now."

"Let's go," Akira said. As they walked out of the room, it was almost on cue that they heard the nighttime announcement.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"I guess it's safe to assume everyone is in their rooms?" Ayato asked.

"Yup," Akira said. "But still, the rooms may be soundproof, but that doesn't mean someone is lurking around at some corner."

"The mastermind perhaps?" Ayato asked.

"Not funny." Akira rolled her eyes.

"You said it, not me," Ayato whispered. They made it to Byakuya's dorm. Akira knocked on his door.

"Finally you two are here," Byakuya said. "You two are late."

"What do you mean?" Ayato asked. "Monokuma just made the announcement."

"Whatever," Byakuya said. "Come inside."

They walked into Byakuya's room. It was the same as everyone else's room.

"So, why did you want us here?" Akira asked. "Did you already figure out who the Mastermind is?"

"No. Not yet." Byakuya said. "But since you two are the Ultimate Spies, I want you to act like it."

"So what exactly do you want us to do?" Ayato asked.

"I have a list of people that I suspect is the Mastermind," Byakuya said. "I want you to check everyone on this list. I don't care what order you do it in, or how you do it. Get it done."

"Got it," Akira said. "And what about you?"

"I will be investigating on my own," Byakuya said. "We will meet here every other day to discuss."

Akira and Ayato looked over the list. They did think that one of the students among them would betray them, but they didn't want to think about that as a possibility. The student's on this list are people that they didn't even think about suspecting. Mondo Owada, Junko Enoshima, Toko Fukawa, Sakura Ogami, Sayaka Maizono, and Leon Kuwata.

"How did you suspect these people?" Ayato asked.

"Just observing whoever catches my eye," Byakuya said. "And those 6 students I want you two to check out."

"Let's split this up," Ayato said. "I'm afraid if Mondo thinks I am suspecting him, I will end up like Makoto when we first got here. So you can check him."

"Alright, I will also check Sayaka and Leon," Akira said. "So that leaves you with Junko, Toko, and Sakura."

"Wait... Sakura?" Ayato asked. "You mean the man girl?"

"Shut up, don't be rude," Akira said. "Plus Hina will be near her at all times so just try to avoid her since she will do all the talking."

"That will be all," Byakuya said. "You two should head back to your dorms, you wouldn't want anyone getting suspicious."

"Will do," Akira said. "Thanks for this Byakuya."

"Bye dude." Ayato waved as they walked out of the dorm room.

So this was truly happening? They are about to find out who the Mastermind is. This will be a hard task since the mastermind obviously won't reveal themselves so easily. But Monokuma did seem nervous when Ayato said they will find out his true identity. But only time will tell what will happen next.


	3. Motivation And Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma brings out a new motive, along with a new student.  
> Byakuya and the Twins plan gets put into action.  
> Akira gets betrayed by someone she considered her friend.

Everyone heard from Taka that they will now have breakfast together every morning. It does seem like a nice way to talk to people and learn more about others, but every day? Well, it's Taka saying this, there is no way you could have the guts to say no.

Everyone is discussing what they found for the 3 days of investigation. No one has found a thing.

"Dammit!" Leon growls. "I'm telling you, no matter how many times I look, I come up with squat!"

"Same here," Yasuhiro said. Everyone else growled.

"We're stuck," Chihiro said as he started to tear up. "We're never getting out of here. No one's coming to help us."

"Awe, chin up, Fujisaki!" Hina said. "Someone on the outside's bound to start missing us soon."

"Yes! Of course!" Toko said.

"You think so?" Junko asked.

"Well, we've been gone long enough to raise the alarm," Hina said. "We're talking three days! The police are bound to be closing the net on this place!"

All of a sudden, a familiar laugh came out of nowhere, once again. It was Monokuma. Everyone gasped.

"Dear, oh dear," Monokuma said. "You're not hedging your bets on law enforcement? You know, it's quite simple. If you want out of here, all I gotta see is a little initiative. Well, I've gotta hand it to you Generation Z-er's, you've got balls when it comes to dealing with authority. Frankly, though, that attitude only goes so far. You're boring me to tears."

"If you think you can trick us into killing someone, you're crazier than I thought!" Makoto yelled.

"Eureka!" Monokuma yelled. "That's the problem! Granted, my setup's perfect: The right atmosphere, a good balance of tension and intrigue, the perfect amount of pressure, but not the vital ingredient to bring it all together!"

"What are you getting at, buddy bear?" Leon yelled. 

"Motivation, son!" Monokuma said. "Oh, but before I do that... I want to give Akira Iwasaki a little gift."

"What...?" Akira asked. Suddenly Monokuma disappeared, and by the time he came back, he had a new person with him. It was Ibuki Mioda.

"Surprise!" Monokuma said.

Ibuki looked around the Dining Hall. She saw her childhood friends, Akira, Ayato, and Byakuya. Ibuki met the twins at a park that was in the neighborhood, that's when they found out they lived nearby each other, and they visited every day. The twins then introduced Ibuki to Byakuya sometime later.

"Ibuki? What are you doing here?" Akira asked as she and Ayato helped her go to the table with the others.

"I would like to know the same thing," Byakuya said as he crossed his arms.

"I have no idea," Ibuki said. She was still smiling, she is probably still in the dark about what's going on. "All I remember is walking in this building and then I got knocked out."

"Wait- why are you here?" Akira asked.

"Ibuki got a text from you," Ibuki said in the third person. She saw that Akira was confused.

"I never texted you," Akira said. "All of our phones have been missing for 3 days."

"That's weird," Ibuki said as she searched herself for her phone. "I would show you the message if I had my phone."

"Akira never texted you because... I did," Monokuma said. "And I took your phone along with the others. Wouldn't want you to have access to the outside world!"

"This isn't funny," Ibuki said. "Give us our stuff back so we could leave please."

"You can leave... If you do one thing." Monokuma said.

"What?" Ibuki asked.

"Don't-" Akira tried to get Monokuma to shut up, but it was no use.

"Murder," Monokuma said with no emotion in his voice. Ibuki started laughing. She was in denial just like everyone else was.

"He isn't serious, right?" Ibuki asked as she was wiping a tear off her face. "Seriously dude Give us our stuff back so we can leave."

"We honestly don't know how serious he is about the whole murder thing, but we all have been stuck here for three days," Ayato said.

"Holy shit..." Ibuki mumbled. "Seriously?"

"What is this motive you were speaking about earlier?" Kyoko asked.

"Oh, right!" Monokuma said. "All students, report to the Multimedia Room at once for a brief informative presentation on just what I mean."

"Multimedia Room?" Makoto asked.

"He is talking about that old AV room," Akira said. "Ayato and I found it when we were looking through the rooms."

"I'll see you all there," Monokuma said as he disappeared.

"What the fuck!" Mondo yelled. "Is this guy serious?"

"Does anyone have any clues?" Leon asked.

"One thing I can tell you is who's behind all this. Something who's totally weird and messed up." Hina said. "Why else would we be trapped in here in the first place?"

"Well, sure, it could be something like that," Leon said. "But for right now, actual clues are..."

"U-Umm..." Chihiro mumbled

"Huh? What's up?" Leon asked.

"If you think in terms of people who are really abnormal or bizarre... Do you think maybe the person responsible for all this could be a certain murderous fiend...?" Chihiro asked.

"A murderous fiend... Chihiro, do you have some idea who might be behind all this?" Makoto asked.

"Well...maybe," Chihiro said. "I mean, I can't really be certain, but..."

"Certainty is not a concern right now!" Taka said. "I'll allow whatever remarks you may have!"

"O-Okay, well... Have you guys heard of Genocide Jack?" Chihiro asked.

"You mean that serial killer that's been in the news and all over the Internet?" Makoto asked.

"The monstrous villain who's murdered scores of victims in brutally bizarre fashion... The word "bloodlust" was left at each murder scene, written in the victim's own blood." Byakuya said. "Whoever it is, he's like a ghost. He strikes without warning and disappears without a trace. And on the Internet, they started calling him... Genocide Jack. That about covers it, I think."

"They say he's claimed over a thousand victims..." Yasuhiro said.

"That's just an urban legend though, right?" Junko asked. "I mean even like, ten people would be totally insane."

Akira looked around, her eyes landed on Toko. She seemed nervous. Who could blame her? She had every reason to.

"Anyway, whoever Genocide Jack really is, he's obviously some kind of super crazy killer," Chihiro said.

"And if he really is this "ultimate" psycho, I wouldn't be surprised if he put together something like this," Mondo said.

"But as I said, I can't be certain," Chihiro said. "I don't have any evidence or anything. It's just a thought..."

"But if they're the killer, isn't that like a killer of a problem for us!?" Leon asked.

"No matter what Monokuma said, I am 100% certain that people are trying to look for us," Hina said. "We have been here for 3 days with no communication with anyone. Someone obviously called the police."

"I agree with Hina," Akira said. "It is still too early to think that we won't get out."

"With that being said, we should hurry up and check out what is in the AV room," Kyoko said as she walked out of the dining hall. Everyone followed.

In the room, there was a box with DVDs. Everyone had their own DVD with their name on it, Akira and Ayato had a shared DVD. They all grabbed their DVDs and sat down in their separate chair and played the DVDs on the computer.

The video started off with a family photo with Ayato, Akira, and their parents. They couldn't help but smile at the photo. They all looked so happy, and to even set the mood for it, there was an audio recording of a song their mom used to sing for them when they were younger. But then the video glitched and the video changed to their house trashed. The only thing that stood was an expensive vase that they were going to sell at an auction they were invited to.

The twins sat there with a straight look on their face, so did Kyoko and Byakuya. This was obviously a tactic that Monokuma used to convince people to start killing. You can hear everyone's gasps and chatter through the headphones.

Suddenly Monokuma's voice came up on the video.

"Akira and Ayato Iwasaki. Both were born in such a wealthy family. They worked with the Togami family for generations and the two businesses worked together to guide the world. But what happens to a home without any support pillars? Better question, What happened to the Iwasaki family when their pride and joy twins disappeared?"

The screen went back... Orange words came up on the screen. "Find out after graduation."

As soon as Akira and Ayato saw their reactions, they knew... They'd all seen something like what they had seen. Nobody even bothered trying to hide their fear and confusion. Except for her... Even now, she was totally calm.

"I see... So this is what he meant by motive." Kyoko said. "He wants to fuel our desire to leave so that we're more likely to start killing each other."

"It is the classic 'prisoner's dilemma'," Celestia said.

"Huh?" Hifumi asked.

"Let me use an example. Imagine two countries are on the brink of war. But both countries want peace, and each commits to scaling back their forces as a sign of good faith. But there's a chance that one country may betray the other, so each country fears lowering their guard. The result is that neither scales back their forces and they both end up betraying each other." Celestia explained. " In other words, the fear of invisible treachery becomes the greatest enemy of stability."

"That kinda sounds l-like us right now..." Toko said. "Everyone says they'll work together, but in our hearts, we're all afraid someone might betray us..."

"Don't put those awful thoughts in our head!" Taka said. "That's exactly what they want us to do!"

"You can say that, but maybe you're thinking that once everyone drops their guard, you can just..." Leon tried talking but Taka interrupted him

"What on earth are you talking about?" Taka asked. "I would never!"

"It's too early to be pointing fingers when nothing even happened, Leon," Akira said.

"Yeah... at this point it is useless to say we should be working together and helping each other out when there is a big motive in front of us," Ibuki said. "We all want to get out of here so bad, so why kill someone else so you can get out? If we can work together, we all can probably escape together."

"And disagree with me if you must, but killing someone just so you can escape is a strong act of selfishness," Akira said. "So get those murderous thoughts out of your fucking heads and actually do something about this situation."

"I agree with Akira and Ibuki," Sakura said. "That is exactly what Monokuma, or whoever's behind this, wants. They want us to fight. Don't you see?"

"Yeah, you're right," Chihiro said. "We all need to calm down..."

"Okay, then. Maybe we should start by all just...talking. Maybe if we all just talk about what we saw, that'll help get everything out of our system." Junko said. "Besides, I think we're all super curious, right?"

"Hey, Sayaka..." Mokoto mumbled. Everyone looked over at Sayaka. She was trembling. "Sayaka?"

Makoto put his hand on Sayaka's shoulder, and she pushed away. She stood up from her chair and started shaking some more.

"I can't do this," Sayaka said. "I have- I have to get out of here before it's too late!"

"What did you see?" Makoto asked.

"Why..." Sayaka whispered as tears rolled down her face. "Why did this happen? I didn't deserve this! A kid shouldn't have to make this choice!"

"Sayaka-" Makoto tried to comfort Sayaka. And then Monokuma's face showed up on the big screen in front of the room.

"Who are you, really?" Kyoko asked. "What are you even getting out of this? Is this all some kind of sick game to you?"

"Yes, what am I getting out of this?" Monokuma asked himself. "Very good question. My payoff... is your despair."

"NO!" Sayaka screamed as she ran out of the room. Makoto turned towards the door.

"Let her go," Byakuya said.

"I-I can't do that!" Makoto yelled as he sprinted out the door. "I have to go make sure she's okay!"

Everyone else besides Toko, Byakuya, Kyoko, and Celestia ran outside following Makoto. Akira, Ibuki, and Ayato stayed next to the doorway.

"Sayaka, come back!" Makoto called out. Once he finally caught up to her, he grabbed her wrist to stop her from running.

"Let go!" Sayaka yelled.

"We are in this together like detectives, remember?" Makoto asked. "That's what you told me!"

"Stop it!" Sayaka yelled.

"We can do this!" Makoto said. "If we work together, we will get out!"

"No one's coming!" Sayaka yelled again. "We're all going to die!"

"I'm not gonna let that happen, I swear!" Makoto said. "Whatever it takes, you hear me? I promise."

Sayaka sobbed even more. She hugged Makoto and cried in his chest. You could hear Monokuma mocking her sobbing for a few seconds and started laughing. That same bone-chilling laugh that made everyone want to vomit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STATUS: 18/18 students alive

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple of hours before night time, Ibuki, Akira, and Ayato gathered in Byakuya's room. It took Akira a lot to convince Byakuya to let Ibuki in on the plan. Finally, he said yes, he also thinks it's important to pick Ibuki's brain about the situation they are in. All she knows is that everyone is trapped in a school, and the only way out is to kill someone.

"So what is this meeting about?" Ibuki asked.

"It is a top-secret mission that is only our business, no one else," Ayato said. "You can't even tell that crybaby, Sayaka."

"Ayato, be nice!" Ibuki said. "We all saw terrible things on those DVD's, I can't even begin to imagine what she saw."

"Would you start to feel bad for her if you found out Byakuya suspects her as the Mastermind?" Ayato asked as he handed her the list of suspects. "And we all know Byakuya is never wrong."

"Well, I mean... This is just some predictions." Ibuki said. "Akira, aren't you and Leon friends or something? Are you seriously allowing the fact he is a suspect?

"I do think of him as a friend, but this is that 'keep your friends close and enemies closer' type beat," Akira said. "It could be anyone, so it's better safe than sorry."

"And how are you gonna figure this out?" Ibuki asked.

"Leave the sneaky work to the Ultimate Spies," Ayato said. "In all honesty, we didn't really think of a plan on how we are going to pull this off."

"Actually... we did," Byakuya said.

"What?" Ayato asked. "Since when?"

"Just now," Byakuya said. "Listen carefully because I am going to say this once. You and Akira are gonna patrol the Dormitory hallways at night. Make sure nobody comes in, and nobody comes out. Since Ibuki is new and still doesn't fully know what is going on, she will be an easy target, so until I can think of a way to make her useful in this plan, she will be sticking with one of you each night for the time being."

"isn't that a bit risky?" Ayato asked. "This whole plan just seems like a way that will get us killed."

"Why would I make you guys go out at night if you WEREN'T the ultimate spies?" Byakuya asked.

"But we are," Ayato said.

"Exactly, so since the both of you come from a family of ultimate spies, you have nothing to worry about," Byakuya said. "And also, the rules say you must be sleeping in a dorm, not just your dorm."

"Now that all makes sense," Ayato said. "This plan is foolproof!"

"Wait, so spies are supposed to have a cool gadget to communicate right?" Ibuki asked. "What do you guys use?"

Akira looked at the camera that was in Byakuya's room, then looked back at Ibuki. Without saying a word she shook her arm where her wristwatch is. Ibuki got the hint and nodded. All of a sudden there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, Byakuya, It's Leon." The voice said. Rolling her eyes, Akira stood up and opened the door. "Oh... Hey Akira. What are you doing here?"

In all of her years of spy work and working on cover-up stories, it wasn't hard to find a lie immediately.

"Ibuki is still shaken up about what she saw on her DVD, so we are comforting her," Akira said. Ibuki made a fake scared face while Ayato had his hand on her shoulder so Leon can buy it.

"Oh man, that's sad." Leon said "I also never thought of Byakuya as the type of guy to comfort someone.

"I'm not, they simply came in here uninvited," Byakuya said.

"Anyways, what's up?" Akira asked.

"Well, Taka wanted to have a meeting type thing to discuss what happened earlier today," Leon said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Ugh, didn't we all have a conversation before Sayaka ran off?" Akira groaned. "Honestly there is nothing to talk about."

"Well he mainly wants to talk to you, Byakuya, Kyoko, and Ibuki to try to see if you guys can come up with a plan together on how to escape."

"Why us?" Akira asked.

"What about me?" Ayato asked.

"Well, he asked for you guys since you were the most calm and collected in that situation," Leon said, then he looked inside the room at Ayato. "He didn't ask for you for reasons we don't need to talk about."

"What-?" Ayato asked.

"You're a dumb ass," Byakuya said.

"Well, not exactly those words, I guess Taka would say Unreliable or Irresponsible," Leon said.

"You guys are so mean to me." Ayato fake pouted. "And I can be reliable and responsible when I choose to be. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the super cool High School level spy, like Akira."

"Sure, we will be there," Akira said. "But Ayato has to come. He cannot be trusted alone."

"Sound's good," Leon said as he walked away. "See you guys there."

Akira closed the door and walked back towards the group.

"For someone who is a suspect, you seem to not really suspect him," Ibuki said.

"That's because there is a long list of who IS a suspect," Akira said. "We still have other people we should be considering before we start to point fingers."

"Alright, so when do we start this plan?" Ibuki asked.

"Soon," Byakuya said. "After Monokuma gave us all a motive, I already feel something is going to go down any day now.

And with that, he was right. A couple of days after Monokuma has given out the motives, Sayaka has distanced herself from everyone. It was weird since she was a really outgoing person. The only one she talks to now is Mokoto, which isn't too out of the ordinary since she always talks to him. But she used to contribute to conversations when people talk to her and smile and wave when she sees someone walking by. Now she can't even look at people in the eye anymore.

Everyone decided to have a free day, from investigations and meetings. Monokuma would pop in here and there to see what everyone is up to and try to give them a little nudge to kill someone, but everyone ignored him.

It has been a week since everyone first came, and for Ibuki, it has been about three days.

It is now curfew for everyone. Ibuki was in Akira's room as an order from Byakuya. Before Akira left, she put a blanket and pillow in the shower so Ibuki can hide in the bathroom. The logic behind that idea is quite simple. The girls' bathrooms are the only ones that lock, so it's perfect for Ibuki to hide in. If someone were to kill Akira, they would try to sneak in her room only to see she isn't there, possibly ready for a sneak attack or actually killing a person. They won't even bother searching the room unless they are targeting her specifically. But there shouldn't be a reason for someone to be in her room since Akira always locks the door after closing it.

Byakuya was also in Akira's room. If someone wanted to kill Byakuya, he wouldn't be dumb enough to hide in the bathroom since the boys' bathroom doesn't have any locks. He is in there until Akira returns to her room safely, and then he and Ayato will walk Ibuki to her room. That's how it has been for the past three days, and nothing has happened so far.

Akira was patrolling one end of the dormitory hall, where the dining hall is, and Ayato was where the trash room and incinerator is. They were talking through their wrist watches describing what is going on at their ends. So far, nothing, until one of the dorm rooms opened. It was Leon's door. Akira hid behind one of the walls and watched him walk towards the incinerator, holding a large bag.

"Suspect number one, Leon Kuwata has left his room and he seems to be carrying something heavy," Akira said. "Duck down and don't let him catch you, I am on my way."

"Roger that," Ayato said. He ducked down and watched Leon walk into the trash room. He obviously couldn't incinerate the bag since the security gate was down, so he just left it there.

Akira came as quick as she could, and she got there before Leon left.

"Dude that's a big ass bag," Ayato said. "Bodybag... it must be. What do you think is in it?"

"Hmmm, I don't know." Akira whisper yelled. "Let me think, what could possibly be in a body bag? Maybe a dead body!"

"Shut up," Ayato said. "What if he is a fucking pig with a dirty ass room. it could be a shit load of trash."

"Shut up, he is coming out," Akira said. They both kept quiet as they watched Leon walk away. When the coast was clear, they both ran in the trash room.

"Okay, open the bag," Ayato said. Akira ripped open the bag.

"What the actual fuck?" Akira said.

"What? What is it?" Ayato asked. Akira pulled out a bunch of paper, and one of those small signed posters of Sayaka.

"First of all... is he really a fanboy?" Akira asked. "Her music isn't really that good."

"You're just saying that because you never got out of your emo phase," Ayato said. Akira stuck out her tongue and stuck up the middle finger. "Anyways... what's with the pieces of paper?"

Akira opened the pieces of paper.

"It looks like song lyrics. There are love songs, I guess this is the metal genre and some random writing shit." Akira said. "Not gonna lie, these are actually really good."

"Didn't you say you wanted to introduce him to Ibuki so he can do that music career thing?" Ayato asked. "Ibuki is here... Leon has been here. What gives?"

"I'll get to it when I can," Akira said. "But because of the situation we are in, I can't really do anything unrelated to that right now."

"I knew it." A voice said behind them. Akira and Ayato jumped and froze in fear from that voice. How did he know? How did LEON know they were gonna be here?

"What the fuck do we do now?" Ayato asked.

"Maybe if we stay still he won't see us," Akira whispered.

"Nope, I can still see you," Leon said as he walked into the trash room.

"How did you know we were gonna be here?" Akira asked.

"Well you two are the ultimate spies here," Leon said. "So I had to either chose the most obvious way or the least obvious way."

"Which is...?" Ayato asked.

"Most obvious, you two will actually try to figure out who the blackened is before everyone else, or find any clues of someone being the mastermind," Leon said. "And the least obvious was that you two would actually respect Celeste's rules about staying in our rooms at night."

"Well you got us there," Akira mumbled.

"I gotta ask you something since I just want to help," Leon said. "Does Byakuya suspect me for being the mastermind or something? Is that why you guys followed me here? I mean my plan actually worked but still."

"Do you want the honest answer or do you want us to lie?" Akira asked.

"That's fair," Leon mumbled.

"And what plan?" Akira asked.

"I wanted to find a way to talk to you about the whole mastermind thing without the others hearing and asking questions," Leon said. "So I found a giant bag from the supply closet and put a bunch of shit in there."

"Well, I guess it did work," Ayato said. "But I am not sure if it is safe giving out such sensitive information."

"You guys can trust me," Leon said. "Even if it means I have to give up my own life to do so."

"Well, I mean... If he is dead..." Ayato mumbled.

"Shut the fuck up," Akira mumbled to Ayato. She then searched in her jacket pocket to find the list of people Byakuya suspects as the mastermind. "Here, this is the list of main suspects."

Leon read over the list. He was surprisingly unbothered by the fact that his name is on the list. Something that surprised him was that Sayaka's name was on there.

"Sayaka?" Leon asked.

"The list was made before the DVD situation... clearly," Akira said. "But now, Sayaka is acting extremely weird for a couple of days. And we are starting to get worried."

"I'm not," Ayato said. Akira hit him in the back of his head.

"We are!" Akira said. "Anyway, we still have to check with the others."

"Well, this is already suspicious enough," Leon said.

"Why?" Akira asked.

"Sayaka slipped a note under my door asking to meet with her," Leon said. "And when I walked out of my room, I saw that she also slipped a note under your door."

"I didn't get a note," Akira said. "When was this?"

"When I was pretending to walk back into my room, I saw her slip a note under your door," Leon said.

"Well if it is the same note asking to meet, then let me go first," Akira said.

"What? Why?" Leon asked.

"Let me just talk to her for right now, and then you can meet with her tomorrow," Akira said. "Because with the mental state she is in, she is bound to do something unreasonable. Plus if I were to get killed, I would have the both of you that knows she did it."

"But-" Leon tried to object to Akira's statement.

"But nothing," Akira said. "Plus it should be at least three right now, we still have a couple of hours until we have to go back to hour rooms."

"Akira, Leon is probably right," Ayato said. "I don't feel too good about this situation. Let me come with you."

"No," Akira said. "Walk Leon back to his room. I will be back."

Akira started walking away back to the dormitory hall. Leon and Ayato watched her as she disappeared into the dark hallway.

"You're not actually letting her go, are you?" Leon asked.

"We have no choice. When Akira has something she needs to do, there is no one stopping her." Ayato said. "Byakuya and Ibuki are already in her room, we all will wait for her there."

"Alright, let's go," Leon said. They both got up and walked into the dormitory hallway. Akira was nowhere to be seen. So she was already in Sayaka's room.

They both finally made it to Akira's dorm. Ayato knocked on the door.

"Byakuya, it's Ayato, open up," Ayato said. The door opened up after a few seconds. When it did, they saw Ibuki sitting on the bed, hugging her knees, shaking, and an angry Byakuya holding a sheet of paper.

"Where is she?" Byakuya asked. "And why is he here?"

"We couldn't stop her!" Leon said.

"I am not asking you, I am asking Ayato," Byakuya said, he then turned back to Ayato. "I let Ibuki out of the bathroom for a couple of minutes just for her to see this note. Do you have any idea how petrified she is? How did Akira even know to meet with Sayaka?"

"Sayaka also wanted to meet with me," Leon said as he showed Byakuya the note. "But Akira told me that she would do it."

"Well thanks to you, you have exposed her to possible danger!" Ibuki yelled.

"Ibuki, please," Ayato said. "Leon is telling the truth, we tried to stop her but she didn't listen."

"And this would also be full-proof that Sayaka is either the so-called 'blackened' or the mastermind!" Leon said. "Isn't that what you wanted to find out Byakuya? Whether I, or Sayaka, or anyone else on that list would betray you guys or is responsible for this?"

Byakuya scrunched his nose and stared at Leon.

"The only thing we can do is wait," Ayato said. "She promised she would be back soon."

"And how soon is soon?" Byakuya asked. "She is alone with a suspect without any form of protection."

"Sayaka's room is across the hall, if anything we could just knock on the door no problem," Leon said. "Let's just leave the door open so we can see what is going on in the hallway if anything does happen."

"Whatever, everyone come sit down so we can think through this situation," Byakuya said.

Meanwhile...

Akira knocked on Sayaka's door, surprisingly it was opened.

"Sayaka, I got your note," Akira said. "Your door was open so I just let myself in."

Akira walked into Sayaka's room and saw no one was there.

"Sai?"Akira called out a nickname she gave her. She gives everyone a nickname. Still, Sayaka didn't respond. "Come on Maizono, I want to catch up on sleep, what do you want?"

Suddenly Sayaka came from a corner. Akira jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry, I was in the bathroom," Sayaka said with hands behind her back. "I must not have heard you come in."

"It's fine. Why did you want to meet?" Akira asked.

"I originally wanted to meet with Leon first but I guess he is sleeping, but I wanted some advice from both of you," Sayaka said. "Please, sit."

Akira sat on the bed next to Sayaka.

"What did you want advice on?" Akira asked.

"I... I have feelings for Makoto." Sayaka mumbled.

"Really?" Akira asked. "Well I mean, good for you. I'm sure he feels the same way about you."

"Really?" Sayaka asked.

"Definitely," Akira said. "The way he looks at you says it all."

"Maybe you're right," Sayaka said. "But I don't think he would want to be with me. I have done such horrible things to get where I am now."

"What do you mean?" Akira asked.

"You know... Ultimate Pop Sensation, I had to leave so much behind to reach my dream." Sayaka said. "I have gone so far, but I feel like I still haven't accomplished anything. I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything..."

"No, I totally get it," Akira said. "You have already accomplished your goal, and now you don't know what to do next. I've been there."

"Really?" Sayaka asked.

"Everyone has," Akira said. "Try to make a goal that is hard to reach but is still attainable."

"What if it was to get out of here?" Sayaka asked. "Is that truly attainable?"

"Sayaka... everyone is doing the best they can," Akira said. "Byakuya, Ayato, and I are already trying to figure out who the mastermind is and we already have a list of suspects."

"Suspects?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, Byakuya made the list and in my years of knowing him, he has never been wrong," Akira said. "All we can do right now is trust him through it all."

"What if he is wrong?" Sayaka asked. "I trust his judgment, I really do... but have you ever stopped to think he may have something to do with this...? Maybe he is the mastermind or someone who will give valuable information to the mastermind?"

"What? Like a traitor?" Akira asked.

"I'm sorry, I know you two are friends and all... but what if someone really is giving information to the mastermind?" Sayaka asked.

"Well now that you mention it... it does make sense. No doubt there is a traitor, but it definitely isn't Byakuya." Akira said. "His stubborn ass works alone for everything."

"Makes sense," Sayaka said. She started tearing up.

"Sayaka? What's wrong?" Akira asked.

"I want to get out of here... I need to get out..." Sayaka mumbled.

"Sayaka, it's okay, we all do," Akira said. "But working together is the only option we have so we all can get out."

"There is still one option," Sayaka mumbled.

"What are you-" Akira tried to ask, but then Sayaka reached behind her back and grabbed a kitchen knife and started to swing at Akira. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Akira jumped off the bed and avoided Sayaka's attacks. Akira tried to run to the door, but Sayaka put her foot in front of Akira and tripped her. Akira landed on her stomach, and immediately turned and laid on her elbows. Sayaka was already on top of Akira holding the kitchen knife. She already got a good stab in Akira's stomach, but it wasn't enough to kill her.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you psycho bitch!?" Akira yelled as she kicked Sayaka in the stomach to shove her off. "Get off of me!"

Sayaka flew off Akira and landed on her back. Akira jumped on her feet and looked at the knife Sayaka dropped. She grabbed it, and when Sayaka was still down, Akira held the knife up... getting ready to stab Sayaka. But something told her not to do it. Akira stabbed the floor next to Sayaka's head and ran out the door. She finally made it in her room where she was considered "Safe" just to see an angry Byakuya, a petrified Ibuki, and a nervous Leon and Ayato.

"What are you guys doing here?" Akira asked referring to Leon and Ayato. "I told you to bring Leon to his room."

"This isn't about Leon and Ayato right now," Byakuya said. "Why did you go to visit Sayaka?"

"She uh... she just wanted my advice on something," Akira said.

"Advice?" Leon asked.

"What do you mean?" Ibuki asked.

"Well it was really obvious, but... she told me that she likes Makoto."

"Why were you so hesitant to answer?" Byakuya asked.

"Well it really isn't my place to say so, now is it?" Akira asked.

"I smell bullshit," Ayato mumbled.

"You can even ask her," Akira said. "Anyways... I am tired, I better get some sleep."

"Yeah... sure," Ayato mumbled, he, Leon, and Ibuki got up to leave. "I'm walking Ibuki and Leon back to their dorms, let me know if you need anything."

"Okay..." Akira mumbled.

"It took a lot of convincing, but Byakuya let me become part of the plan," Leon said. "So let us know if you need help with anything."

"Will do." Akira smiled.

"See you tomorrow Akira." Ibuki smiled.

"Good night, Ibuki." Akira smiled back. They finally left the room. The only one that was left was Byakuya.

"So, do you plan on telling me what really happened in that room?" Byakuya asked. "Or are you gonna keep telling me some bullshit?"

"I wanted to wait until they left," Akira said. She let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. "But you're right, Sayaka was most likely gonna turn her back on everyone."

"What happened?" Byakuya asked.

"It all started off with small talk... I noticed she was acting so weird." Akira said. "And then she attacked me."

"Specific weapon?" Byakuya asked.

"One of the knives from the kitchen," Akira mumbled. She noticed Byakuya was writing in his notebook. He must be keeping information on everyone in there.

"We could use this against her you know," Byakuya said.

"No, I'm not dead yet," Akira said. "They wouldn't do anything."

"Yes they would," Byakuya said. "But whether or not you tell people is completely up to you. But if she gets to walk out of this place with no consequences, I will tell everyone what she did to you. Starting with Leon, Ibuki, and Ayato."

Akira sat in her room wondering what she's gonna do about this situation. But at least she protected Leon from getting killed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STATUS: 18/18 students alive

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. Secrets Out: A Body Has Been Discovered (Class Trial Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A body has been discovered! The killing game has finally begun!  
> Makoto Naegi has been framed for murder.  
> Can Akira crack the case to prove Makoto's innocence?

Monokuma made his announcement an hour ago, everybody met in the Dining Hall as usual. Everyone came in one by one, and finally, Ayato walked in with Ibuki, and Ibuki alone. It was weird because before Ibuki came, Akira and Ayato would always walk together attached at the hip. And now that Ibuki was here the three would walk in together, and Byakuya would come in a few minutes after them.

"Good nom, nom nomming!" Ibuki yelled as she walked in. She has been around them long enough for them to know that she is saying good morning.

"Good morning." Chihiro waved.

"Hey, Ayato," Hina called out. "Where is Akira?"

Everyone suddenly got worried. It was unlike Akira not to be around. Could she possibly be...?

"She is probably overtired," Ayato said. "I know what you are all thinking, and no. It's not that. Ibuki, Byakuya, Leon, and I were with her last night."

"That's good to hear," Taka said. "Getting the proper amount of sleep is important. At least it's known that she is okay."

"Yeah, but there is something I wanted to ask," Ayato said as he glared at Sayaka. Everyone followed where his eyes were. They were immediately confused.

"Dude, not right now," Leon whispered.

"Yeah, Ayato, don't start," Ibuki mumbled. "Byakuya, do something."

Byakuya gave Ibuki and Leon a gesture to leave Ayato alone. They both listened immediately.

"What is it, Ayato?" Sayaka asked in an innocent voice.

"I saw that you slipped a note under Akira's door asking her to meet with you. She came back looking weird." Ayato said as if this was a casual conversation. "I just wanted to know... What did you say to her that made her react the way she did?"

"Oh," Sayaka giggled. "We were having girls chat, I assume she hasn't really had one since she hangs around you and Byakuya all the time and the only female friend we heard about in her life was Ibuki."

"Yeah... she was really anti-social," Ayato mumbled as he glared at Sayaka. "We only hung out with Byakuya because our Family Agencies work together. It wasn't until later we actually considered him our friend. And I actually introduced her to Ibuki. It doesn't matter that Akira is older than me, I used to do most of the talking for her."

They still have no idea that Sayaka attacked Akira the night before, but Ayato still can't shake the feeling that something happened.

"Awe, she talks about Ibuki?" Ibuki asked, referring to herself in the third person again.

"Yes, she does." Sayaka laughed. "I also heard from her that she wanted you to teach Leon a thing or two about music since he is very passionate about that."

What was her deal? No matter how many times she tries to change the subject, the attention stays on her. She was silent a few days ago, why is she talking so much now? Honestly, she would be better if she would shut up.

Ibuki gasped. "Why didn't you say anything before? I would totally teach you!"

"Really?" Leon asked.

"Of course!" Ibuki smiled.

"I'm gonna check on Akira," Ayato said.

"Hey, maybe we should treat her to breakfast and not make her feel like we forgot about her," Ibuki suggested.

"Buki," Ayato called her by her nickname. "Remember when we were younger and we had that sleepover. Our parents wouldn't wake up and so we made breakfast ourselves, and we ALMOST SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE?"

"Wait, what?" Leon asked.

"That seriously happened?" Chihiro asked.

"But who exactly was in charge of cooking?" Celestia asked. Ibuki and Byakuya immediately pointed at Ayato. "That would explain it."

"Y-you truly are an idiot," Toko said.

"You guys are so mean to me," Ayato fake pouted. "Anyway, that's not the first time it happened either. Ibuki actually set something on fire. She claimed she knew how to cook."

"I said I knew recipes, not that I can cook," Ibuki said. "And it was your fault because you forced me to cook."

"That is true," Byakuya said.

"If it's not a problem, I can do it," Leon said.

"No, it's okay. Ibuki and I will figure something out without burning down the school." Ayato said. "Though that would be a nice option... But I am trying not to turn you all into human chicken tenders, so we will just feed her undercooked food."

"I actually cooked for myself for about 10 years, and I can guarantee you nothing has been set on fire." Leon smiled.

"He is an Ultimate baseball star, he is pretty good at music but is learning from the ultimate musician, AND HE CAN COOK!" Ayato said out loud as if he were on stage talking to a big audience or hosting an auction. "Is there anything that this man cannot do?"

"I can help." Sayaka smiled.

"We are fine," Ayato said as he glared at Sayaka once again. He and Ibuki grabbed Leon by the shoulders and dragged him into the kitchen. "Get your ass up, ginger! Teach Ibuki and me how to cook!"

Everyone laughed at Ayato, completely ignoring the fact that Ayato has a bone to pick with Sayaka.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Akira was in the shower. She couldn't do anything about the blood on her stomach from the stab wound yesterday, so she just waited until it stopped when she applied pressure to it. There is now a scar on her stomach, but good thing there isn't any more blood to deal with. Once she got out of the shower, she got dressed and went back to bed. In all honesty, she didn't even want to look at Sayaka, let alone even being in the same room as her. Byakuya probably told the others what happened anyway. It took so much willpower for Akira to keep her composure and not NOT kill Sayaka. What would even happen if she DID kill Sayaka? Would Byakuya even trust her again? As an older sibling, even an older twin, you're supposed to make your younger siblings feel safe. Ayato would be petrified of her now. Ibuki... Ibuki would hate Akira's guts if she killed someone, right? And Leon... They just met last week and Akira already considers him one of her good friends. It feels like she has known not only him but also Hina, Sakura, Mondo, Taka, Kyoko for a long time. Could they have possibly been friends in another life? Or have they passed by each other in a store or something? She doesn't know. But what she does know is that she can't afford to lose them. Akira was so lost in thought she didn't even notice she was crying. All of a sudden, there was a knock at her door. It was unlocked so whoever knocked came in. It was Ayato, Ibuki, Byakuya, and Leon.

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Ibuki smiled "We made you breakfast!"

"Correction, LEON made you breakfast," Byakuya said. "These two can't cook for their lives."

"Let them take credit, Byakuya," Leon said. "It was their idea to cook in the first place"

"It's your favorite! Egg and Bacon Sandwich with... drum-roll please..." Ibuki said as Ayato started hitting the wall imitating drum sounds. "Hot Sauce!"

"Thanks guys." Akira tried to smile, but they knew something was wrong.

"Your eyes are sad..." Ibuki frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah, why are you crying?" Leon asked. They all let themselves in and shut the door behind them.

Normally people in a situation like this would want to be alone. But that is the last thing that Akira wants at this point. She wanted to know that her friends are still alive and that they are still with her.

"I know I say this a lot, but even though we just met last week, you could talk to me," Leon said. "And I'm not just talking about the whole mastermind and blackened thing, but if there is something on your mind that's bothering you, you can tell me."

"Thanks, guys... I'm just homesick. That's all." Akira said. Ayato frowned at the word 'home'. Was it really ever home for them? They both never see their parents anymore since they are doing spy work overseas, or Akira and Ayato are doing spy training across the country. Needless to say, They haven't seen their parents in 10 years.

"It is a crappy feeling," Ibuki said. "But as you said before, we all are going to keep trying, and we will all get out of here together. We will find whoever is behind this and give them hell."

"Exactly," Leon said. "And you don't have to worry about anything, you have us. And we aren't going anywhere."

"Well, when we do get out of here, she won't have to wake up to you guys every morning," Ayato said. Everyone started laughing. "So technically, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me forever!"

"Thanks guys." Akira started laughing.

"My bestie is smiling again!" Ibuki smiled as she hugged Akira. "Group Hug!"

Leon and Ayato gathered to hug Akira. Byakuya watched from a distance.

"Come on, Byakuya," Ayato said. "Is that stick shoved so far up your ass it's preventing you from hugging the poor girl?"

"Come on dude," Leon said. "She doesn't have a disease or anything. At least... I hope you don't."

"I don't." Akira laughed. Byakuya rolled his eyes and joined the group hug. He may not look like it, but Byakuya cares a lot about his friends. After a while of talking and laughing, Ibuki, Leon, and Ayato insisted on giving Akira a little bit of space since they have been on her every day. Byakuya on the other hand stayed behind. Akira can bullshit the three for so long, but she cannot lie to Byakuya.

"How much longer are you gonna leave them in the dark for?" Byakuya asked.

"I dunno," Akira mumbled.

"Do you mind telling me what you are upset about?" Byakuya asked.

"I- I don't know what to do." Akira started tearing up again. "Last night- I almost killed her."

"And you didn't," Byakuya said. "She is in the Dining Hall. She seems fine. But I do believe Ayato will find out sooner than the others."

"Why?" Akira asked.

"He keeps glaring at her," Byakuya said. "He knows that something went down last night, but I never told them what happened."

"Thanks," Akira said as she wiped her tears.

"But I know that isn't the only thing bothering you," Byakuya said. "There has to be more to it."

"I'm just wondering what would happen if I did actually kill her," Akira said.

"So far no one died," Byakuya said. "Sayaka didn't kill anybody, so thank god you left while you were able to. But if you did kill her, then you would be able to leave, as Monokuma said. But you would also be going against what you told everybody."

"I know..." Akira mumbled.

"But, let's say that you did kill Sayaka... you were acting in self-defense," Byakuya said. "Sure that doesn't justify how wrong this whole situation is, you weren't completely in the wrong."

Akira smiled a little bit. Byakuya can come off as an asshole to other people but when it comes to his friends and family, they are the most important thing to him.

"And I can speak on behalf of the others, but no matter what happens, we will be there to back you up," Byakuya said.

"Thanks, man." Akira smiled.

"Well, enjoy your breakfast. We will come back to check on you later." Byakuya said as he walked out of Akira's room. Little did he know that Ibuki was standing there the whole time listening to the conversation. "Woah- Ibuki! What are you still doing here?"

"I went back to the kitchen to make Akira a drink," Ibuki said. "What's this shit I'm hearing she got attacked?"

"Look, please calm down," Byakuya said as he tried to calm down Ibuki. "Akira will tell you guys when she is ready."

"Ibuki doesn't allow this..." Ibuki mumbled. "It was Sayaka, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Byakuya said. "But you can not tell the others about what happened, and you absolutely can't let Akira know that you know."

"Fine," Ibuki mumbled as she walked into Akira's room to give her the drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The school was quiet, and nothing too eventful happened. All of a sudden Monokuma made an announcement.

"Good evening everyone!" Monokuma said. "Please meet in the gym at your earliest convenience... which is right now."

Everyone walked into the gym, confused with what Monokuma wanted. Could it possibly be another motive? Or something worse? At this point, no one even knows anymore.

"Greetings fellow students!" Monokuma said, no one replied. "Oh, I see we are one short? Where could Akira be? I hope she hasn't been murdered."

"Don't be ridiculous, I was with her all day!" Ibuki yelled. "She is fine."

"Yeah, shut your trap, you stupid bear," Leon said.

"Puhuhuhu... If you say so." Monokuma said. "Anyways... I realized that only 18 students make this school kind of... empty. No fun, right?"

"Don't tell us..." Hifumi mumbled.

"That's right! You have some new students joining us!" Monokuma said. "I let them explore the school a bit and they already know exactly what is going on."

"Well, where are they?" Junko asked. Just as she said that six more students walked in.

"Here," Monokuma said. The new students stood by the door, nervous as hell. "Now don't be scared, come in!"

The students hesitantly walked into the gym.

"Normally, I would be excited to meet new students," Ibuki said. "But not if they are kidnapped and trapped here!"

"Now, I need to get ready for the night time announcements," Monokuma said as he disappeared. "Go ahead and get to know your victims!"

"Oh! Can I go first?" A small boy with purple hair asked. "Can I? Can I?"

"Uh... Okay?" Leon said.

"I am Kokichi Oma, ultimate Supreme Leader," Kokichi said. Everyone rolled their eyes at how dramatically he introduced himself.

"Hi." A girl mumbled, she seemed like she was busy playing a game. "I'm Chiaki Nanami. Ultimate Gamer."

"I am Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist," Kaede said.

"Hey Leon, you think you wanna practice with a piano chick?" Ayato asked

"I don't see why not," Leon said. "I'm not really into classical music and stuff but I am interested to see what she can do."

"I don't just do classical," Kaede said. "I can do almost anything, just tell me what you have in mind and I'll see if I can do it. I heard from Monokuma that there is a music room somewhere in the school, and it will be opened at some point."

"Oh hell yeah! Ibuki likes!" Ibuki smiled. "We keep chasing around the first floor and the main hall but haven't found shit! Who knew that there was so much more stuff here?"

"All we need now is a singer!" Leon said.

"Could I be a singer?" Sayaka asked. Ibuki turned around and glared at her. Everyone noticed it too.

"Aren't you already in a band, Sayaka?" Ayato said as he rolled his eyes. He knew what Ibuki was thinking, but she couldn't bring herself to say it since everyone would get suspicious.

"I-" Sayaka mumbled.

"Hey, what happened to you guys?" Hina asked. "You all were just fine before Monokuma gave us that motive."

"Anyways, let's continue the introductions," Ibuki said, ignoring Hina's question.

"I am Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager." A big buff guy said.

"I am Nagito Komaeda, Ultimate Lucky Student." A boy with white hair said.

"Oh, so you're just like Makoto?" Hina said as she pointed to Makoto. "Were you supposedly accepted through a lottery?"

"Yes, I was," Nagito said. "Nice to know there is another one of me."

"Heh, yeah," Makoto said. Everyone looked towards another boy that was in the group of new students. He was silent and was just staring at his shoes.

"What about you?" Ayato asked.

"Huh? oh, I'm Hajime Hinata." The boy said. He looked back at his shoes again.

"What is your Ultimate?" Ibuki asked.

"I dunno," Hajime mumbled.

"You don't know?" Ibuki asked.

"I just don't remember it, alright?" Hajime said.

"Gee, sorry." Ibuki laughed. The others gave their introductions to the new students and almost on cue, Monokuma gave an announcement.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement," Monokuma said. "It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially night time. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."

"Okay, so What are we gonna do about the new students?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, there were only dorms for us who came on the first day, right?" Junko asked.

"Monokuma said that there are a bunch of dorms made on the other side of the school," Kaede said.

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing that there was another set of dorms when we first looked around," Hina said.

"Well, I guess that settles it then," Mondo said.

"Since it's clear that Monokuma will keep on adding more students, no one has to worry about further sleeping arrangements," Celeste said.

"Well, we all should go to our dorms," Ibuki said. "Ayato and I are gonna go check on Akira since she was sleeping all day."

"I will come too, I told her I will check on her again," Byakuya said. Everyone started walking out of the gym doors.

"Leon, are you coming?" Ayato asked.

"Yeah, I will be there later," Leon said.

"Alright, see you later!" Ibuki smiled as they all walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Byakuya, Ibuki, and Ayato knocked on Akira's door, good thing it was locked.

"Akira, it's Ibuki, Ayato, and Byakuya," Ibuki said. "Open up, girl."

It took a few seconds, then the door finally opened.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Akira asked. She knew that whatever they wanted, it was meant for them to talk in Akira's room. It was weird since they always met in Byakuya's room. But that was the least of Akira's concerns right now. She opened the door wider so they could come in. "Where's Leon?"

"He said that he will come later," Ibuki said.

"Oh, okay. I heard an announcement from Monokuma saying to meet in the gym," Akira said. "What was that about?"

"He has captured six more students," Ayato said. "Their dorms are on the other side of the school in the second dormitory hall."

"Oh," Akira mumbled. "Wait- there is a second hall?"

"Apparently Hina saw the hall when we first got here," Ayato said. "We offered to walk the newbies there, and it turns out that the hallway has a door and it was one of the doors we couldn't open."

"Interesting," Akira mumbled.

"And the problem is... You and Ayato are guarding both paths of this dormitory hall, and we have no one guarding the second one." Byakuya said. "We must discuss what we are going to do about that."

"I could guard the second dormitory hall," Ibuki said.

"Are you sure?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah, totally," Ibuki said. "And we could have either you or Leon guard the other side."

"We will discuss this matter with Leon when he gets here," Byakuya said.

They continued talking for what seemed like half an hour, Byakuya and Ayato left so they could get something from Byauya's room. A few minutes after he left, there was a knock at the door. Akira went to open it. It was Leon, he was shaking and hyperventilating.

"Leon, What happened?" Akira asked as she put her hand on Leon's shoulder.

"Sh-she..." Leon couldn't get the words out of his mouth. "I don't know what to do."

"Hey, hey. It's going to be okay." Akira said as she walked him inside the room.

"What happened?" Ibuki asked.

"She... She attacked me... She almost tried to kill me." Leon mumbled.

"Who?" Akira asked. "Who tried to kill you, Leon?"

"S-s-s... Sayaka," Leon said.

By this point, Ayato already walked back into the room, without Byakuya.

"Hey, Byakuya said he will be back in a couple of minutes he has to... Woah," Ayato said as he looked at Leon. "What happened to him?"

"He got attacked by Sayaka," Akira said.

"Wait, did you go talk to her after we agreed not to?" Ayato asked, clearly angry.

"We didn't agree to anything!" Leon yelled. "She said it was important so I went."

"Did she hurt you or anything?" Ibuki asked.

"No, she didn't get to," Leon said. "I defended myself."

"With what?" Ayato asked. "As far as I'm concerned, you have nothing on you, and if you did, you left it with that Psycho."

"There was like... this katana on the table," Leon said. "I used it to block her attacks."

"Then what happened?" Ibuki asked. As she asked, Byakuya was already in the room.

"I think I accidentally hit her," Leon said. "Next thing I know is that she was holding onto her arm and she ran into the bathroom"

"You didn't cut her, right?" Akira asked.

"No, the katana was still in the sheath," Leon said. "After she ran into the bathroom, I ran here."

"I'm fucking done with that psycho bitch." Ayato said. "We are telling everyone what she did tomorrow morning at breakfast."

Leon tensed up at that last sentence. He didn't want them to call out Sayaka. Because-

"Ayato, even if we do tell them, they can't do anything since Leon isn't dead," Akira said. "Plus it's not like she can leave or anything. She will have to kill someone and not get caught. So she can't graduate."

"Whatever," Ayato growled.

"Not even Monokuma could do anything," Ibuki mumbled. "The rules say that violence towards him is strictly prohibited."

"Yeah, the first day, he exploded in Mondo's face," Ayato said.

"Holy shit," Ibuki mumbled.

"Leon, let's walk you to your room, and we will tell everyone what Sayaka did," Byakuya said.

"O-okay," Leon mumbled.

Everyone walked out of Akira's room after saying their goodnights. Sayaka actually tried to kill ANOTHER student? Where does she get off? She is going after people who are a lot stronger than her. Is she gonna get Mondo, or Sakura next? Or will she get after that student, Nekomaru?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STATUS UPDATE: 24/24 STUDENTS ALIVE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, everyone woke up to Monokuma's morning announcement.

"Good morning, everyone!" Monokuma cheered. "It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

Akira woke up, and she did her morning routine. After that, she walked to Ayato's room and knocked on his door.

"Hey, you decided to come out of your room today." Ayato smiled.

"Yeah, plus I am kind of eager to meet the new kids," Akira said.

"Nice. Let's go." Ayato said as he and Akira walked into the Dining Hall.

When they got there, they saw Leon and Ibuki already there. Along with the new students.

"Oh, hello. I don't think we met." A girl with blonde hair said. It was Kaede. "I am Kaede Akamatsu. The Ultimate Pianist."

"Hey, I am Akira Iwasaki, Ultimate Spy." Akira smiled. "And of course I guess you already met my brother."

"Yes, I did." Kaede smiled. "He has quite the humor."

They both laughed and walked to the table to sit.

"Hey, Akira." Hina smiled. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, lots of rest was exactly what I needed." Akira smiled.

"Excellent! Now that we have our other twin here, we are bound to be more successful for our future searches!" Taka said loudly.

"Gee didn't know I was that important, heh." Akira laughed as she scratched the back of her neck.

"Well of course!" Ibuki smiled. "Not just investigating the school, but you are an amazing friend! I don't know what I would do if I didn't meet you and Ayato!"

"I suppose you are pleasant to be around," Celestia said.

"Thanks, guys." Akira smiled. Soon after everyone started coming in one by one.

"Hey!" Junko smiled. "Sorry I am late, my make up was not cooperating with me."

" My apologies, ladies and gentlemen," Hifumi said. "My morning, ah, duty took a little longer than usual..."

"I suppose I'm late," Kyoko said as she walked in.

"I didn't oversleep, just so you know," Yasuhiro said. "Nope got lost! I blame the Bermuda Triangle..."

"Wait, aren't we still missing some people?" Taka asked.

"Yeah, Sayaka and Byakuya aren't here yet," Hina said. All of a sudden, Byakuya finally walked in.

"What's going on?" Byakuya asked. "Did something happen?"

"Hey man! Have you seen Sayaka?" Mondo asked. "I'm fucking starving"

"Do I look like her keeper?" Byakuya asked. "I came here directly from my room, thank you very much. Plus I expected her to be here since we all have something to discuss."

"What is it?" Toko asked.

"What I am gonna ask is for the lady in question," Byakuya said.

"It's a little out of character for her to be late," Hifumi said. "She is usually here before I am. Did she forget our breakfast promise?"

"I got the sense she always had her stuff together," Kyoko said.

"Do you think she is sick?" Hina asked.

Everyone noticed that Makoto was trembling.

"Is something wrong, brah?" Yasuhiro asked.

"Excuse me..." Makoto said as he jumped out of his chair. "I should probably go check on her."

And just like that, Makoto was out of the Dining Hall.

"So like, are they together or something?" Kaede asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Akira asked.

"Well, I mean... you guys have been here for a little over a week right?" Kaede asked. "I just figured people wouldn't build such a strong bond in a little over a week, let alone in a situation like this."

"Yeah, Makoto and Sayaka have known each other since Middle School, I guess," Akira said. "If anyone knew themselves better than anyone, it's each other."

"Oh, I see," Kaede said. "That's nice to have someone you know for a while to be here with you. I see he cares about her."

"Yeah," Akira smiled, then she looked away and whispered, "A little too much."

All of a sudden a blood-curdling scream came from the dormitory hall. It seemed to be coming from Makoto's room. Everyone immediately got up and ran there. Once they did, they found Makoto passed out on the floor, and Sayaka... dead in the shower.

"Oh my gosh," Hina gasped and covered her mouth.

"This room is completely trashed," Ayato said. "Seems like a sign of a struggle, perhaps?"

"Maybe..." Kyoko mumbled. "It is a good possibility."

All of a sudden, Monokuma's voice came on the speaker.

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma said. "All students please report to the gym at once!"

"What the hell?" Taka said. "Is this some sort of pep rally?"

"Like hell if I am going to that gym!" Mondo yelled.

"Guys, we don't really have a choice," Kyoko said.

"Are you serious?" Junko asked. "Sayaka is dead, Makoto is passed out on the floor, do you really think that listening to what that bear wants is a smart choice right now?"

"I agree with them, Kyoko," Yasuhiro said.

"Remember what happened when Mondo didn't listen to Monokuma?" Kyoko asked. "Do you really want that to happen again?"

"Well... No." Junko said.

"Then it is best to go to the gym," Kyoko said.

"Kyoko is right," Akira said. "I personally don't want to find out what happens if we don't go... so we should just do it."

Everyone mumbled and agreed. Yasuhiro picked up Makoto and they all walked to the gym, leaving Sayaka in the shower. Once they got there, they all laid Makoto on the bleachers, then waited a couple of minutes. Some point later, Makoto finally woke up.

"Finally, he is up." Akira smiled. "Ayato, give him some water."

Ayato handed Makoto the water bottle. Makoto groaned and sat up.

"Where am I?" Makoto asked as he looked around his surroundings.

"The gym," Chihiro said.

"Sorry," Hina said. "We carried you here after we found you passed out."

"Yasuhiro tried to carry you but his ass kept dropping you," Ibuki said.

"Ibuki, no," Akira said. "Well, that is what happened."

"Well, Sakura did the heavy lifting after Yasuhiro kept giving up," Chihiro said.

"How's your head?" Ayato asked.

"It still hurts," Makoto said. "So what I saw... was it real?"

No one could answer his question. Makoto looked around the room, looking at everyone's faces. Then it hit him.

"How's Sayaka?" Makoto asked. It took a moment of silence until someone spoke up.

"I'm afraid she is dead," Byakuya said. "Homicide."

Makoto gasped, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Someone really killed Sayaka? He jumped off the bleachers and ran towards the door, but Taka grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Taka asked.

"Where do you think I'm going?" Makoto yelled. "I can't just leave her there, can I?"

"Makoto," Taka said. "We need you to get a hold of yourself!"

"Let go!" Makoto yelled. "I have to-"

"Waste of time, my friend," Byakuya said. "I can assure you that the girl is well and truly departed. You can check once, twice, a thousand times. Sayaka is completely and irrevocably dead."

"Then why are we all standing around with our thumbs up our butts?" Makoto asked. "Someone's been murdered! We can't just treat this like any other day!"

"Understand, Makoto, it isn't as though we chose to stand around," Taka said.

"So then what the hell is going on?" Makoto asked.

"It was the damn bear," Toko said. "The so-called principal. He ordered us to meet in the gym. Something like a pep rally."

"Believe me, man, we are all against the idea," Taka said. "'How on earth can you be so disrespectful' we said. But then-"

"Because they took my suggestion and complied," Kyoko said.

"Kyoko..." Makoto mumbled.

"Right now, we need to do whatever he says," Kyoko said. "We're his prisoners, right? It's not a good idea to defy him without reason. We don't need to make any more sacrifices than we already have..."

"Why should we listen to anything he has to say?" Makoto asked. "It's obvious he's the one who killed Sayaka!"

"BAHHH" Monokuma said out of nowhere. It was probably his failed attempt at one of those buzzers that go off when you get an answer wrong. "As if little ol' me would do something like that! Scouts honor! It wasn't me!"

"He's here again..." Leon growled.

"You monster..." Makoto mumbled.

"Use your head, Mr. Jumps-To-Conclusions," Monokuma said. "Unless someone violates a school regulation, I absolutely will not interfere. I can promise you, I won't do anything that goes against the purpose of your school life here. I'm famous at safari parks throughout the world for following the 'Bear-Times-One' rule!"

"Then...who did it?" Chihiro asked. "Who killed her?

"You already know the answer! The one who killed her is...one of you!" Monokuma said. Everyone stood there, shaking in fear. One of them actually killed Sayaka? "Hmm? What's the matter? You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling gun! Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Sayaka so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!

"Are you serious?" Akira asked.

"This is horrible," Chihiro said.

"He is lying, right?" Hina asked.

"Of course he is lying!" Makoto yelled.

"Nope, sorry. One of you is now a bona fide killer," Monokuma said. "If they wanted to, the one who did it could testify to that little fact."

"W-what?" Makoto asked.

"Yup. Someone here killed Sayaka," Monokuma said. "And right now, someone standing here knows that all too well."

"I demand whoever did it come forward immediately!" Taka yelled.

"Huh. Sure, like that'll work like a charm." Toko said. "Do you ever listen to yourself?"

"Look, whoever it is, I won't judge," Celestia said. Her eyes contradict her statement. You could tell by the looks in her eyes, she was judging anyone she thought was suspicious.

"It wasn't me," Hifumi said. "I swear."

Hifumi then looked at Leon, who was standing right next to him.

"Nuh-uh! I know you're not looking at me!" Leon yelled.

"Silence!" Byakuya said. "All of you. Let us assume the perpetrator is in fact one of us. By your own rules shouldn't they have graduated by now?"

Monokuma started laughing. Everyone stared at him.

"Well. Aren't we a Glass-Half-Full kind of guy?" Monokuma asked. "I like your reckless optimism! Having said that, though, the main attraction's still to come."

"What does that mean?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Akira asked.

"Listen up, me droogs!" Monokuma said. "Freedom isn't straight forward, there are a lot of 'supplemental' rules."

"Ah, the article in our digital notebooks which states 'Whoever kills a classmate may graduate, but he or she must not get caught by the other students'" Celestia said.

"Exactamundo!" Monokuma said. "Someone studied! Murder alone won't cut the mustard; the killer has to get away with it"

"In other words, to go free we must commit the perfect crime," Celestia said.

"After each homicide, you'll have time to investigate before convening to debate the guilt or innocence of those who remain," Monokuma said. "We call these debates-- Wait for it-- 'trials'!"

"You... can't be serious about this," Makoto mumbled.

"During the trial, you'll have to present your arguments about who you think the blackened is. And once everything comes to an end, the outcome will be decided by popular vote!" Monokuma said. "If the answer you've arrived at is correct...only the one that disturbed your peace will be punished. The rest may continue their communal life. However...if you choose poorly...then the one who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you will receive your punishment. Which of course means your school life will come to an end! As far as class trial rules go...that's all there is to it!"

"So, um...what exactly is this 'punishment' you keep talking about...?" Hifumi asked.

"Oh! Well, to put it simply... It's execution!" Monokuma said. Everyone gasped.

"E-Execution!?" Hifumi exclaimed.

"And by execution, you mean..." Chihiro mumbled, unable to finish his sentence.

"Execution is...execution. Ex-e-cution!" Monokuma said. "Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper in a hurricane!"

"S-So, to make sure I understand... If we get the culprit right, then only they die. But if we get it wrong...all the rest of us get...executed?" Taka asked.

"What a smart little chimpanzee you are!" Monokuma said. "Look at you, implying you didn't do it without actually saying it! So it's basically what the outside world calls a 'lay judge' system, or an inquisition type thing! Which means you'll be deciding who you think the killer is. But judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line!"

"W-Wait, hold on a second!" Junko yelled. "You're freaking insane, you know that!?"

"I beg your pardon?" Monokuma asked.

"You heard me, you psycho hairball," Junko yelled. Everyone was staring at her. Speaking out against someone who has more power over you and can kill you in an instant was a pretty ballsey thing to do. "A class trial? What the hell is that!? I don't want anything to do with it!"

"But why?" Monokuma asked.

"What do you mean why? I'm not playing juror if it means I'm risking my life and that's that!" Junko yelled.

"Oh, be reasonable!" Monokuma groaned.

"Don't even try to talk to me about being reasonable, you sadistic freakazoid!" Junko yelled. "I'm out of the game!"

"Oh! The presence of evil before me is so overpowering, Whatever shall I do?" Monokuma said, pretending to be scared. All of a sudden, Monokuma's claws came out. "But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end...! If you really wanna get out of here... You'll have to go through me first!"

Before they knew it, Monokuma came charging at them. Fight or flight kicked in and they all were obviously gonna run away and hope that the mechanical bear won't find them. But before Monokuma could even reach them, a loud thud could be heard. They all turned around and saw that Junko shoved Monokuma down and held him down with her foot.

"I'm sorry, were you trying to say something?" Junko asked.

"Big mistake," Monokuma growled.

"Huh?" Junko asked.

"Man-handling the principal in any way, shape, or form is strictly forbidden," Monokuma said. "The rules, remember? I know I warned you about breaking them."

Suddenly the bear started beeping again, just like he did the first time. Everyone gasped in fear, trying to tell Junko to move.

"Wait, what's going on?" Hajime asked.

"Activating summoning magic!" Monokuma yelled as the beeping got even faster. "Save me, Gungnir Spears!"

"Junko! Move!" Akira yelled. But before Junko could respond, she was immediately impaled by multiple spears.

Everyone gasped, petrified about what they just saw.

"Okay... not gonna lie, kinda weird," Junko mumbled in her last breaths. "It's, uh, I dunno really..."

Suddenly, she collapsed on the floor. Toko fainted. Everyone started screaming.

"Oh my fucking god! She's fucking dead!" Akira screamed.

"Ibuki doesn't like this," Ibuki said as she started shivering. "What the hell do we do?"

"oh no..." Chihiro mumbled.

"That is seriously messed up," Leon said

"Honestly, I wanted to avoid messy situations like that as much as humanly possible," Monokuma said as he jumped back up on the stage. "But when an example's begging to be made, you can't let a bad attitude slide. Let's hope the gravity of your situation is beginning to sink in. High stakes are high."

Everyone gasped. Although it should have been made clear the first time this happened, no one died. But now that someone did die. This rule has been made crystal clear to everyone.

"Best of luck playing junior detectives!" Monokuma said. "The trial will begin soon. So put on those thinking caps and start a-case cracking!"

And with that, Monokuma disappeared once again.

"This is insanity," Makoto said. "What do we do? If that was an example-"

"At the very least, we can rule out Junko Enoshima as a suspect in Sayaka Maizono's death," Byakuya said.

"oh, you don't say?" Ayato said, clearly being sarcastic. "For Christ's sake, the girl is dead now, what else would you expect?"

"What he is trying to say is if she didn't get killed, then Junko would still be a suspect just like the rest of us, dumbass," Akira said as she smacked the back of Ayato's head. Ayato growled at the word 'dumbass'.

"I propose that we move forward with the investigation," Celestia said. "Not to sound unduly harsh, but mourning the lives lost can only hamper chances of saving our own."

"Sorry, but that is harsh," Makoto said.

"The girl was warned; not least of all by me," Celestia said. "Those who cannot adapt are quickly swept away on the tide of their own obsolescence. In short, good riddance."

"That is a terrible thing to say!" Hina yelled.

"Our personal feelings on the matter are neither here nor there," Kyoko said. "The situation we've been tasked with is to unmask the culprit or we die."

"Aw, crap," Yasuhiro said. "Heads up, guys! We got sent some new pages!"

"Jackhole. Who gives a damn?" Mondo asked.

Everyone started grabbing their digital handbooks to see what Yasuhiro was talking about.

"The 'Monokuma Files' huh.." Taka said.

"Woah, it gives a complete run-down of Ms. Maizono's cause-of-death," Hifumi said

"Yeah, looks like it," Akira said as she scrolled through the file.

"Ah, this could prove useful," Celeste said. "Apparently the room she was found in wasn't her own. But, quite tellingly, it was Makoto's."

Everyone gasped and looked at Makoto.

"Should have known!" Mondo yelled. "You greased the poor girl, didn't you?"

"Hold on just a minute, it's not what it looks like," Makoto said.

"You better justify yourself, Naegi," Ayato said.

"Exactly, explain why the dead chic is in your room," Akira said.

"She came to me wanting to switch rooms for the night, and I said okay," Makoto said. "She was scared and needed my help."

"Oh, sure," Mondo said. "Like we'll believe that line."

"Stinks if you ask me," Leon said.

'Oh, come on," Makoto said. "You guys really think that I did it?"

"Makoto put yourself in our shoes, what would you think?" Byakuya asked. Makoto was speechless.

"Well if I am a suspect, what about Ayato?" Makoto asked.

"What about him?" Akira asked, already getting defensive.

"He has been glaring at Sayaka for a while... and same with Ibuki," Makoto said.

"He is right, those two have had a problem with her for some time, and now she just shows up dead," Hina said.

Akira looked at Hina, then back at Makoto.

"Listen, Naegi," Akira said. "You were closer to Sayaka Maizono more than any of us even were, and her dead body was found in your room. I want to think of it as some fucked up set up, but as of right now we have no evidence that proves it wasn't you. I personally don't even want to think it's you. But if at the end of that trial, and the results say that you killed Sayaka, and you were trying to drag down Ibuki and Ayato, just know you got exactly what was coming for you."

"Akira, I-" Makoto tried to speak but got interrupted.

"As I said, if you say you're not the killer, just pray that there is evidence that backs it up. But for now, you are guilty until proven innocent." Akira said. "Leon, do you still have that paper?"

Leon nodded and dug in his pocket and fetched out a folded piece of paper. Akira took the paper and handed it to Byakuya.

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"We have a list on who we think the mastermind was or who would most likely betray us," Ayato said. "Sayaka has been acting weird for days and then the day after an unknown thing happened between her and Akira, she wants to get all talkative again. Not gonna lie, I am kinda disappointed that it wasn't her."

"Wait- why do you even think that the mastermind is one of us?" Hina asked. "isn't it still too early to figure that out yet?"

"No, we should have been searching the minute we first got here!" Ayato said. "When I mentioned to Monokuma that I will find out who he truly is, he didn't laugh or call me a dumbass. He was genuinely scared. Meaning, the mastermind is closer than we thought, and is right here in this school with us."

"But that list is just stupid predictions, it doesn't mean anything, right?" Yasuhiro asked.

"We have known Byakuya for so long, and his predictions are never wrong," Ibuki said.

"Leave the mastermind investigation to us," Akira said. She then looked at Junko's body. "We have a class trial to get ready for."

"Makoto, if you're innocent, the burden of proof is on you," Byakuya said.

"Guys-" Makoto mumbled.

"Everyone, come," Byakuya said. "Let's get this over with."

One by one everyone started walking out of the gym.

"Byakuya wait," Makoto begged, but nobody would hear him out.

"Just pray that it goes well," Kyoko said as she followed Byakuya out of the gym

Akira, Ayato, and Ibuki gave Makoto one last look before leading the new kids out of the gym.

"It's as good a place to start as any," Taka said as he also exited the gym. Mondo took off his jacket and used it as a cover over Junko's dead body.

It was no use. Nobody would listen to Makoto. As of right now, everyone should be investigating, not listening to what others have to say. If anyone wants to justify themselves, they can do it at the class trial. If Makoto is right, and he didn't murder Sayaka, that means he was set up. And only three people know that. One of them is Monokuma, otherwise, if he didn't, it wouldn't be a fair trial. The other one is Sayaka, who is dead. And the last one who knows is the true killer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STATUS 22/24 STUDENTS ALIVE 2 DEAD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**_To Be Continued..._ **


	5. Secrets Out: Investigation (Class Trial Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discovering the body of Sayaka Maizono, it is up to Akira to find out who did it and protect Makoto from getting falsely accused.

The Victim of this murder is Sayaka Maizono. The time of death was approximately 1:30 am. Her body was found in the dormitory wing, specifically in the private room of classmate Makoto Naegi. The death occurred in the aforementioned classmate's shower. The cause of death was a stab wound to the stomach from a large butcher's knife. More of the victim's injuries: deep lacerations to, and broken bones in, the right wrist. Indicating the victim struggled against her attacker.

Akira, Ayato, Ibuki, and Byakuya walked down the main hall while scrolling through the Monokuma file. There was useful information they could bring to the trial, but not enough to figure out who the killer is. They were on their way to Makoto's dorm since it is the scene of the crime. Before they could even walk in, Mondo stepped in front of them.

"And what is your business in here?" Mondo asked.

"We also have to investigate," Akira said. "This is the crime scene, so there will most likely be more clues here."

"Sorry, can't let you do that," Mondo said as he shook his head.

"Why not?" Ayato asked.

"Yeah, this is Makoto's room," Ibuki said. "Why was he able to be in here?"

"Because the boy isn't athletic," Mondo said. "If he were to try and clear up any evidence, we would catch him immediately. But with these Spy Twins, they could be extremely stealthy about it."

"Is that really how you see it?" Akira asked. "Fine then, I mean, I am a better choice than you when it comes to guarding. When people think I am not around, I just come in by surprise and catch them off guard. They only chose you to keep an eye on Makoto's room because you're muscular. Why else would they choose the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader?"

"Alright, fine. No need to come in with that." Mondo said. "It's better safe than sorry, you know?"

"Yeah, totally," Akira smiled. "How about Ayato and Ibuki stay out here while Byakuya and I come in. We have to make sure of something."

"Of course," Mondo said as he moved out of the way.

"Wait, why do we have to stay out here, and you two go in?" Ayato asked.

"We will be right back," Akira said as she and Byakuya walked into Makoto's room.

"Great..." Ayato said, leaning against the wall. "More secrets."

"What do you mean?" Mondo asked.

"Well something happened between her and Sayaka," Ayato said. "And she still refuses to say something."

"Is that why she stayed in her room all day the other day?" Mondo asked.

"I believe so, she claims that she was homesick, but I don't buy it," Ayato said. He then turned to look at Ibuki. "Surely she told you something, right?"

"What?" Ibuki asked, clearly lying. "No. Absolutely not."

"Ibuki, this is serious. Whatever happened between them isn't good and now Sayaka is dead." Ayato said. "Whatever it is, you better say it at the class trial."

Ayato got off the wall and started walking away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Mondo asked.

"Tell Akira I am doing an investigation on my own," Ayato said as he walked away.

"I- uh... Ibuki will go too." Ibuki said as she ran away and followed Ayato.

Mondo sighed and walked back into Makoto's room.

Meanwhile, in Makoto's room, Byakuya and Akira walked towards the bathroom where Sayaka was.

"So what was it that you wanted to look at?" Byakuya asked.

"In the Monokuma file, it said Sayaka was stabbed with a butcher's knife. I wanted to see if it was the same one she attacked me with." Akira said. They walked into the bathroom and saw Sayaka laying in the shower, just like the Monokuma file said. Akira walked closer to the knife and saw a knife stuck deep into Sayaka's stomach. It is clear that she is dead and there is no coming back from it. If anything, Akira would be surprised with the amount of blood loss, and how deep the knife is, if Sayaka survived it. "Well won't you look at that... it was the same one."

"How could you tell just by looking at part of the knife?" Byakuya asked. "You only see the handle and a small part of the blade."

"When Sayaka attacked me that night, she used a big knife," Akira said. "It was the kind of knife you would use to cut thick pieces of meat or something."

"Makes sense," Byakuya said. "You said this knife came from the kitchen, right?"

"No doubt about it," Akira said. "But it won't hurt to go and check."

Byakuya and Akira walked out of the bathroom, Mondo suddenly walked to them.

"Ibuki and Ayato left," Mondo said. "I believe they went to where the trash room is."

"Thanks, Mondo," Akira smiled as she and Byakuya walked away. They walked out of the Dormitory hall and into the Dining hall. There, they see Hina in the kitchen.

"Oh, hey guys!" Hina smiled and waved. She was eating a box of donuts. "What's up?"

"We came to look around for clues on Sayaka's murder," Akira said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead," Hina smiled.

"How often are you in this kitchen?" Akira asked.

"About every day," Hina said. "Why?"

"So were you here yesterday too?" Akira asked.

"Yes, Sakura and I were both here together," Hina said. "Funny you ask, Makoto was just here asking me the same thing."

"He talked to you?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah, he is looking for someone to be his alibi, and he believes I am the best choice he has," Hina said. "And he is right."

"What do you mean by that?" Akira asked. "Are you saying you believe he didn't kill Sayaka?"

"Yeah, even during night time, I find a way to sneak in here," Hina said. "And out of all the times I have been in here, he has never stepped foot into this kitchen."

"Interesting," Akira said. She then looked at the knives that were hung up on the wall. "One more question before we go."

"Of course," Hina said.

"Was there always a knife missing over there?" Akira asked, pointing at the hanging knives.

"One of the knives has been missing for a couple of days after Monokuma gave us that motive," Hina said. "Then it came back that day you didn't come out of your room."

"I see," Akira mumbled. She knew exactly what that knife was used for. It wasn't used to kill Sayaka... but rather an act of self-defense probably? But Akira has to keep that fact until the class trial. "And if I'm not mistaking... the knife that is missing right now, it's the same one that was missing the other day?"

"Exactly!" Hina said. "It's totally weird. Whoever took that knife to kill Sayaka, I believe that murder wasn't targeted... They probably tried to kill someone before Sayaka."

"Did you happen to see someone take that knife?" Byakuya asked. "You already confessed you broke the rule about staying in your room during night time, but also you were in a prohibited area too."

"I... yes. I did see who It was." Hina said. "Sakura did too."

"Who was it?" Byakuya asked. "And why didn't you say it when everyone blamed Makoto?"

"I... I thought it was bad to speak ill of the dead." Hina mumbled.

"You don't mean..." Akira mumbled.

"Yeah, Sayaka took the knife and walked away," Hina said. She saw the shocked faces of Byakuya and Akira.

"Okay, thank you Hina, that's all," Akira said as she grabbed Byakuya's arm and ran off. "See you later."

Once when Akira and Byakuya ran out of the Dining Hall, Akira stopped running.

"Did you hear what she just said?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes..." Akira mumbled. "Not only does that prove that Makoto isn't the killer, but that contradicts almost everything that we were told last night."

"You know what we have to do about this," Byakuya said. "I know that this will be tough but... what other choice do we have?"

Akira didn't answer for a minute.

"But is it just all a coincidence?" Akira asked. "There is still a lot more proof, right?"

"I'm not sure," Byakuya said. "But in the meantime we just have to-"

"Guys!" A voice called out from the main hall, it was Makoto. "Thank goodness I found you two!"

"What is it Makoto?" Akira asked.

"I was searching in Sayaka's room so I could look for that DVD... found it," Makoto said. "But I think you guys should take a look at it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Akira and Byakuya were investigating, Ayato and Ibuki were doing their own investigation that didn't involve Sayaka's death.

"So what you're saying is... in order to find out who the mastermind is... we need to learn the History of Hope's Peak?" Ibuki asked.

"I believe so," Ayato said. "Maybe we should check out a few of the classrooms and see if there was anything left behind."

Ibuki nodded and followed Ayato into one of the classrooms. They opened the door and saw Leon looking frantically in a teacher desk.

"Leon! Hey!" Ibuki waved. Leon flinched and looked up. "Whatcha' doing?"

"Oh... hey," Leon said. "I was just searching around the classrooms to look for something."

"Something?" Ayato asked. "Does it have anything to do with the trial?"

"Actually... No," Leon said. He continued digging around the desk until he found some documents. He didn't know why, but there was something about the documents he had that seemed important. "I kinda wanted to do my own investigation for a while, it kinda seems like I have what I need."

"What are those?" Ayato asked.

"Looks like something that happened at this school last year," Leon said. "I figured that sine I'm helping you guys, I might as well actually find something useful."

"Great! Ayato and I actually needed something that had to do with the history of Hope's Peak," Ibuki said.

Ayato and Ibuki walked towards Leon to see what he had. Those documents could possibly hold clues to who the Mastermind is.

"So what is it?" Ayato asked.

"From what I'm getting out of this, Hope's Peak only let people who had talent get accepted, and every year... they accept one ordinary kid from a lottery," Leon said.

"So pretty much what is going on now," Ayato said as he continued reading the documents. "Look right there, apparently the school was running low on money so they created a reserve course building behind the school."

"What's a Reserve Course?" Ibuki asked.

"It's a separate building for students," Ayato said. "Basically the students who have talent are put into the main course, which is where we are right now. And students who don't have talent are put into a separate building called the Reserve Course."

"Why would they do that?" Leon asked.

"Well, this document only shows the school's budget so I don't think we can get much information from that," Ayato said. "But this is kinda getting us somewhere. If we find out more information about this school, I'm sure we could find out who the mastermind is!"

"Leon, I think you should hold on to those documents until we find Akira," Ibuki said.

"Sure... but where is she?" Leon asked.

"She and Byakuya want to be Sherlock Holmes buddies together and try to solve the mystery," Ayato said. "I mean... I don't know why they're even trying. Sayaka clearly did something to Akira... and then she attacked you. If you ask me, she got what was coming to her."

"But did she really?" Ibuki asked. "I mean... sure what she did was... really, really bad... but like Akira said... this is all Monokuma's fault."

"I guess that's true," Ayato rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that information, Leon. I highly doubt that there is anything left in here so we should check the other classrooms."

"What do we do about any information we get?" Leon asked. "This has nothing to do with Sayaka's death so we can't bring that up."

"Do you mind storing what we find in your room?" Ibuki asked.

"Sure," Leon smiled. "I'm gonna run and put these in my room and I will catch up with you guys."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Byakuya, Akira, and Makoto walked into the AV Room and saw a computer that had the screen still on. Makoto sat down in the chair and Byakuya and Akira stood behind him.

"I already looked at it, but now I understand why Sayaka was freaked out this whole time," Makoto said. "I would be freaking out too if I were her."

"This is Sayaka's motive, correct?" Akira asked.

"Yes, I found it in her trash bin," Makoto said. He played the video. Without hesitation, loud music started coming from the video. It was Sayaka and her band performing on stage.

"Teen Idle, Sayaka Maizono is seen here in her element, singing like an angel, was the toast of her generation!" Monokuma's voice said. All of a sudden, the screen went black, and then turned back for a second, then turned back to the stage the band was on. The performers were dead on the floor, and Sayaka was missing. "Sadly, for reasons still unclear, her chart-topping girl band dissolved right as they hit their stride. These velvety-voiced beauties neither basked in the limelight nor so much as warbled a note in the shower, ever again. Meaning, of course, that if she even breaks free of Hope's Peak, poor Maizono is essentially all dressed up with no place to go. Here's a puzzler for you: Why on earth would this phenomenally successful vocal group disband?"

And just like the Iwasaki twin's video, the screen turned black with orange letters that said: "Find Out At Graduation!"

"Holy shit..." Akira mumbled. "That's fucked up."

"It appears he will stop at nothing to ensure we all play his murderous game," Byakuya said as he fixed his glasses.

Even though Sayaka DID attack Akira... Akira didn't hate her for it. If Akira didn't keep her composure, she would have attacked someone too. Just because Sayaka is dead, that doesn't justify what she did. But if you are in a desperate situation, you are made to do the unthinkable. Now that it is proven to Akira that Makoto is not the killer, she can't have him along with the others get executed, and let the killer get out of here with no consequences.

"She didn't deserve this," Makoto said as he started tearing up. "She was scared and I offered to swap rooms with her for the night. Am I the reason she died?"

"No, Makoto you're not," Akira said. "Look, at the class trial, all eyes are going to be on you, but if it gets to a point that everyone finalizes that you are Sayaka's killer, Hina, Byakuya and I will step in."

"But why?" Makoto asked as he wiped the tears off his face.

"After doing our own investigation, we found evidence that proves it wasn't you," Byakuya said.

"When you talked to Hina in the kitchen, did she tell you why she knows it wasn't you?" Akira asked.

"No, she said it was better to hear it at the class trial," Makoto said. "Do you guys know who it is? Please, I need to know who it is."

"You will find out at the class trial," Byakuya said. Makoto's eyes widened, although it was no surprise that they would say it too. But everyone knows something that he doesn't.

"We want to tell you," Akira said. "Really, we do. But without physical evidence, I don't think you would believe us."

Makoto frowned and nodded.

"We will see you at the class trial." Akira smiled as she waved Makoto goodbye, then walked out of the AV Room with Byakuya. Makoto nodded and walked out with them, and they went their separate ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto walked towards the dormitory hall and found Ibuki and Ayato talking to Leon. Makoto didn't want to intrude in on the conversation so he just waited for them to leave. Once they did h was able to pass by and make his way into the trash room and incinerator. The security gate was down, blocking the way to the incinerator.

"What the hell..." Makoto mumbled. There was something by the incinerator. It was too far to tell what it was, but it just seemed... out of place.

"It's the end of the line," Monokuma said, appearing out of nowhere. "The trash room... This is where all the trash in the school eventually winds up."

"How do you get this gate open?" Makoto asked.

"No no no! No entry beyond this point!" Monokuma yelled. "Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"Cleaning duty?" Makoto asked.

"No no no! No entry beyond this point!" Monokuma repeated. "Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

"Who's on cleaning duty?" Makoto asked.

"No no no! No entry beyond this point!" Monokuma repeated. "Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in! No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!"

Makoto rolled his eyes. It would be useless to ask Monokuma who is on cleaning duty. It would be more effective to ask the others. He walked out of the trash room and walked towards the main hall and found Taka.

"Hey, Taka?" Makoto asked. "Are you on cleaning duty?"

"Cleaning duty, eh?" Taka asked. "As a matter of fact, Monokuma came and talked to me yesterday morning!"

"Really?!" Makoto asked in relief.

"He probably realized I was basically in charge, so he decided to talk to me directly!" Taka said. "The topic of conversation was assigning cleaning duty!"

"Oh, so you're on cleaning duty now?" Makoto asked.

"Actually, no." Taka said.

"Then who?" Makoto asked.

"Hifumi was also there when we had this conversation," Taka smiled. "He volunteered right away, so I let him have it!"

"So _he_ is on cleaning duty, then?" Makoto asked.

"Indeed. But we'll swap out on a weekly basis," Taka said. "I'm sure you'll be up before too long. And when that time comes, I'll be counting on you!"

Makoto didn't say anything. He just simply nodded and walked away. He walked back to the dormitory hallway and found Hifumi, Byakuya, Akira, and Leon there.

"Hey, Hifumi are you on trash duty?" Makoto asked.

"Why, yes I am," Hifumi said. "Why do you ask? It just so happens Monokuma talked to me yesterday and asked me to take care of it. Without someone on cleaning duty, the school would be flooded with trash in no time. So I formally applied for the position! I was gonna start this morning, but after what happened, I haven't had a chance to get started."

"And since you're on cleaning duty, you can open the gate in front of the trash room?" Makoto asked.

"Of course!" Hifumi said. "It's my job to gather up all the garbage and toss it in the trash room. And to do that, they gave me the key for the trash room gate! But we're supposed to rotate once a week, so eventually you'll be in charge."

"Wait, hold on," Byakuya said. "You need a key to get in the trash room? And only the person on cleaning duty has access to the key? What's the point of going to all that trouble? Why not just leave the trash room open all the time so we can all throw things out whenever we want?"

"That does seem more convenient," Makoto said.

"Actually... maybe it's like that because of our school regulations," Akira said. "Rule number 6?"

**Rule 6: Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate unless they're discovered.**

"That must be why," Byakuya said. "If anyone could go in and out of the trash room whenever they wanted, then destroying evidence would be easy. The thrill would disappear, and things would become boring."

"B-Boring!?" Makoto asked.

"Anyway, more important than that..." Leon said. "Hey fatty! Why'd you want the cleaning duty gig, anyway!?"

"I-I just decided to volunteer for something I knew no one else would wanna do," Hifumi said. "What's the big deal!?"

"Liar! I know why you did it," Leon said. "You wanna dig through all the girls' trash! Looking for...y'know...and poking around at it!"

"Dude, that's gross," Akira mumbled.

"What are you talking about!?" Hifumi asked. "All my love is for 2D!"

"But there's all kinds of trash diggers like that!" Leon said. "Maybe you'll get tired of 2D, and then turn to--"

"I would NEVER get tired of 2D!" Hifumi yelled. "After spending a significant amount of time comparing 2D and 3D, I voluntarily chose 2D! The only thing 3D is good for is to shower love and affection on 2D! Oh, and PVC figures!"

"How are you not totally embarrassed to say stuff like that!?" Leon asked.

"If you're so worried about Hifumi's questionable morality, there's a very easy solution. Whenever a guy has cleaning duty, Sakura or the twins can accompany then, from picking up the trash to disposing of it."

"Whaaat?!" Hifumi asked.

"If you're as innocent as you claim, where's the harm in it?" Byakuya asked.

"Kh--! That's not how it's supposed to--!" Hifumi said.

"Anyway, on another topic..." Makoto interrupted. "Hifumi, since you were on cleaning duty, I have a favor to ask you."

"What, so now you suddenly want to join my party?" Hifumi asked. "Sorry, but you haven't triggered that flag yet. I mean, you haven't helped me recover from a past trauma, or save a village, or beat a boss."

"No, nothing like that," Makoto said. "I was just hoping to get into the trash room and look around."

"Oh, okay!" Hifumi smiled and walked towards the trash room with Makoto following him.

"Well, he's weird," Leon mumbled as waved and walked away. "I'm gonna continue looking around."

Akira and Byakuya waved back.

"Well... I guess we are done doing our part of the investigation," Akira said. "We should go over what we looked at just in case if we forgot anything."

Byakuya nodded and walked with Akira.

In the trash room, Hifumi unlocked the gate for Makoto to walk in and look around.

"Well, the gate is opened," Hifumi said. " However, Mr. Naegi... Surely you aren't planning to use the trash room to destroy evidence, are you!? Y-You fiend! You planned this all along!"

"N-No!" Makoto said. "I just wanted to see if the actual killer had tried to destroy any evidence or not!"

"But the _actual killer_ is YOU, isn't it!?" Hifumi asked. Makoto rolled his eyes and looked around. What he found was quite strange. "You want to see if you left anything behind! Wait, maybe a parallel world...?"

"Hold on, Hifumi," Makoto mumbled. "How exactly would you get this incinerator to work?"

"Do you see the green and yellow buttons next to the mouth of the incinerator?" Hifumi asked. "It's a pretty simple setup. You press the green button to get it going, and the yellow button to turn it off. Sooner or later you'll be on cleaning duty, so make sure you learn this before you leave, okaaaAAAYYY!?!? Huh!? Someone turned the incinerator on! Very strange... I'm quite certain it was off last time I was down here. Perhaps it was the work of a fairy..."

"Hifumi! Do you realize what you just said!?" Makoto asked.

" Huh? The fairy?" Hifumi asked.

"No," Makoto mumbled. "You said that last time you were here, the incinerator was off."

"Ah, yes," Hifumi said. "About that there can be no mistake. If I've got one thing going for me, it's my memory! Yesterday, as soon as I was appointed, I came down to check the place out. It definitely wasn't on then. I haven't been back to the trash room since then. And since I'm the only one who has a key to open the gate... it should be impossible for the incinerator to be on. And yet..."

That's the thing that worried Makoto. The incinerator was on before anyone even got into the trash room. Now that he is able to look around, he found something in front of the incinerator. It was a piece of fabric from a white button up and glass shards from a glass ball. If Makoto remembered correctly, Yasuhiro had a glass ball at orientation.

"This is all that's left of some of the evidence the killer destroyed..." Makoto said.

"This whole thing is quite strange, indeed. When I was here last, the incinerator was off, and those glass shards and burnt clothes weren't here," Hifumi said. "What does it all mean, Mr. Naegi!? Will you be confessing soon!?"

"Why me...?" Makoto asked.

"Everyone already knows you did it!" Hifumi said. "All the mysteries are being solved one by one!"

Makoto rolled his eyes and walked away. Everything that everyone has found has just made this case even more confusing. Makoto needs to figure out how to prove he didn't kill Sayaka before he and everyone else gets executed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, so the new kids," Akira said.

"What about them?" Byakuya asked.

"Do you think that they have to join the class trial?" Akira asked. "It's just that 22 students is a lot, and this school may be big, but not extremely big. It's already clear that Monokuma is bringing in more students, so I can already imagine how small the trial room will be."

"Earlier, before I caught up with you, Ibuki, and Ayato, I crossed paths with Monokuma," Byakuya said. "He said that the courtroom was originally designed to fit up to sixteen students. But after he added more students, he had to make adjustments to the courtroom. So now it is the size of an actual court."

"Really?" Akira asked. "Well, as fucked up as it sounds, I am kind of intrigued to see what it looks like. I do wish we were given an option to check it out without only needing it if someone dies."

"That's true," Byakuya said. "But a trial seems to just overdo it a bit."

"Yeah," Akira said. "But you may disagree with me, but I don't think anybody is in the wrong in this situation. I mean, we all want to get out, but there should be a way that doesn't resort to killing each other."

"I agree with you, 100%," Byakuya said. "It's just that this so-called 'Killing Game' wouldn't be any fun without the killing."

"That's not even remotely funny," Akira said, trying to hold in a laugh. She shouldn't be laughing, someone died... and someone killed someone. "Anyway, we should find Ibuki and Ayato."

Just as Akira said that- she heard a shout from behind her.

"Hey, guys!" The voice called out, it was Ayato. "Did you guys find anything?"

"Y-yeah..." Akira mumbled. "What about you guys?"

"We found something that is unrelated to Sayaka's murder that's for sure," Ibuki said.

"But it is still important," Ayato said. "Apparently it is the history of the school."

"History of the school?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah, I guess last year someone from the reserve course was experimented on," Ibuki said. "But the school tried to cover it up."

"What is the reserve course exactly?" Akira asked.

"It's that building that you see near Hope's Peak," Ayato said. "Apparently that school is for students who don't necessarily have a talent, and are considered unimportant to the school."

"Wait- some students were accepted through a lottery," Akira said. "Why couldn't they do the lottery too?"

"The reserve course is extremely expensive to get into," Ibuki said. "And the main course, which has all the Ultimates, only accepts one average student per year. Also the reserve course was only made to fix the school's budget issue."

"So and here is where it gets weird," Ayato said. "We have two students here who were accepted through a lottery and have the title as the Ultimate Lucky Student." 

"Wait, there are two?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, Makoto got accepted by the lottery, and that new kid, Nagito Komeada," Ayato said. "There is also that other new student, Hajime Hinata, the kid claims that he doesn't remember his Ultimate, or he doesn't have one."

"So there are three possible students that should have been in the reserve course? But they were brought here for this killing game?" Byakuya asked.

"Probably," Ayato said. "But then again, that's the only information that we got, I will look into it later."

"Does it say who they did it on?" Akira asked.

"More importantly why?" Byakuya asked.

"Nope, we asked Monokuma about it and he said there is stuff in the headmaster's office or the Library that is on the second floor," Ibuki said. "But you need a key to get into the office."

"Seems like we have another investigation on our hands," Ayato said. "So let's split up these two investigations. Ibuki and I will deal with this event from last year, and you two deal with the Mastermind. I have a feeling that whatever this is about, the mastermind was behind it."

Everyone nodded. All of a sudden, something like a _ding dong, bing bong_ came from the speakers. Then Monokuma's voice came up loud and clear.

"So, I am getting tired of waiting," Monokuma said. "What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited Class Trial! Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"

"Seems like we should go, right?" Ibuki asked.

"No, we have to go," Byakuya said as they walked to the red door.

"Why do we even need a trial?" Ayato asked. "I mean, Makoto did it, right?"

"No, we actually found evidence that it wasn't him," Akira said.

"Wait, seriously?" Ayato asked. "What was it?"

"We have physical proof," Byakuya said. "A witness."

They finally made it to the elevator, everyone was there except for Makoto.

"Hey, is Makoto behind you?" Hina asked.

"No, the last time we saw him, he was with Hifumi in the trash room," Akira said.

Finally, Makoto made his way to the elevator.

"You're late, Makoto!" Taka yelled. "We've all been waiting for you!"

"Damn, Taka," Akira said. "Time is really important for you, huh?"

"Well, of course, it is!" Taka said. "As the Ultimate Moral Compass, it is my duty to guide everyone in the right direction. Even the late ones."

"I suppose you can hardly blame him, right?" Toko asked. "He knows it's only a matter of time before he is executed."

"We haven't proven anything yet," Taka said. Toko flinched at his sudden remark. "I'll remind you, the man is owed a fair trial"

"Whatever, man," Leon said. "Look at him, he's totally guilty."

At this point, Makoto doesn't stand a chance. All he can do is pray that Akira kept her word about sticking up for him if things get messy. If Makoto gets executed, everyone else gets executed with him. And the killer gets to walk out of this place.

"Is everybody in?" Monokuma asked through the speaker. "Hop aboard and be conveyed, as if by magic, to the student courtroom. Otherwise known as the Moment of Truth Room for all of you. The students who have been here since the beginning, including Ibuki Mioda, please sit in the middle of the room, while the newest comers sit in the chairs along the wall."

Everyone started walking into the elevator, Makoto stayed behind, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Nervous?" Kyoko asked. Makoto jumped and looked at her. "You have two options here: Bring Maizono's killer to light. Or, collectively, suffer the fate rightfully theirs."

Akira heard the whole thing and walked up to Makoto. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Seems like she also believes it isn't you," Akira said. "Trust and believe what I said: if false evidence gets pointed towards you, we will point them away. Byakuya and I already got Ayato and Ibuki on board. Although they didn't do anything for this investigation, they will follow along with what Byakuya and I tell them to, not only us four, but you still have Hina as your witness."

After saying that, Akira got onto the elevator with the others and Makoto followed close behind.

The elevator went down immediately. An awkward silence came among the students. This class trial can go down one of two ways; Makoto is proven innocent and everybody lives... except for the killer... or they fail, and they all get executed except for the killer. The problem for Akira is that she knows who killed Sayaka... But she refused to accept it. Not after a situation like this, when you are supposed to depend on people. Not someone who is her friend.

They finally made it out of the elevator. They walked out and saw the courtroom. It wasn't even designed like an actual courtroom.

"And to think... I was actually excited to see the room decorated like this?" Akira asked.

"THIS COURTROOM IS TOTAL SHIT!" Nekomaru yelled. "SPEAKING OF SHIT, I NEED TO TAKE A SHIT!"

Everyone ignored Nekomaru's remark. Suddenly, Monokuma appeared.

"Nyohoho! You've finally arrived!" Monokuma cheered. "What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!?"

"Not even close. It's total shit." Mondo said.

"Yeah, haven't you ever seen any court shows?" Ayato asked. "This whole room is garbage."

"Okay, okay, everyone go find your assigned seats and sit down!" Monokuma said. "Hurry up now, hurry up!"

That's exactly what everyone did. The students who were here since day one, including Ibuki, sat in the middle of the room, and the students that just arrived sat in the seats on the wall. Everyone was getting more of a college lecture hall vibe rather than a courtroom vibe.

"This is so exciting, a group of friends working together to combat the despair of their friend's death!" Nagito smiled. "This is wonderful, so beautiful."

"Was there something in that guy's breakfast?" Akira asked. Ayato shrugged.

This was it. The moment of truth. This is the day everyone exposes who the killer is.


	6. Secrets Out: The Trial (Class Trial Part 3 FINALE)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is now time for the class trial! Will Akira be able to convince others Makoto isn't the killer? Would she need to come clean about Sayaka attacking her? What happens when she finds out that someone she thought was her friend committed a murder?

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma said. "So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunit" then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... then I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!"

"And the killer really is one of us, right?" Makoto asked.

"Of course!" Monokuma said.

"Okay then...everyone, close your eyes," Taka said. "And whoever did it, raise your hand."

"Don't be a goddamn idiot," Mondo said. "Why the hell would they raise their hand?

"Before we move on and start the trial, can I ask a question real quick?" Kyoko asked. "What's going on with...those pictures?"

Everyone looked at the signs with head shots of their dead classmates on them.

"I'd feel awful if they got left out just because they died," Monokuma said. "Friendship penetrates even death's barrier!

"Friendship...penetrates?" Hifumi asked.

"Ugh, pervert," Akira mumbled.

"Okay, that about does it for the preamble," Monokuma said. "Get ready to get started! First up is the case summary. Now, let the class trial...begin!"

"There is so much to unravel here," Ibuki said. "What do we talk about first?"

"First let's talk about the basics of the crime scene," Akira said. "There is a possibility that we will uncover more clues about who killed Sayaka."

"I assert that the one who was murdered was Miss Sayaka Maizono!" Taka said.

"Yeah, we know that part already," Yasuhiro said.

"And the murder took place in Makoto's room," Byakuya said. "In the bathroom."

"So what happened in there?" Chihiro asked. "Was she attacked by surprise in the bathroom?

"No, actually," Makoto said. "My room was a mess, and there were scratch marks on the wall. So there were clear signs of a struggle."

"A struggle?" Chihiro asked. "Between who...and who?"

"Between Sayaka and the killer, of course," Makoto said.

"So you're saying...Sayaka wasn't caught by surprise in the bathroom?" Chihiro asked.

"She must have been attacked in the main room first, then she ran to the bathroom to try and hide," Celestia said. "The killer followed her in, and that's where they finished the job..."

"That much should have been obvious after taking one look at the scene," Byakuya said. "It shouldn't even need explaining."

"S-Sorry..." Chihiro mumbled. "I didn't really do much investigating, I stayed in the gym with Junko."

"Okay, so what's next?" Yasuhiro asked.

"Next is the subject of the murder weapon," Sakura said. The topic of the weapon made Akira freeze. Was this really the moment that she says Sayaka attacked her? Akira wasn't ready for it.

"So what was used to kill her?" Sakura asked.

"Well, according to the Monokuma File, she was stabbed with a butcher's knife," Akira said. "More specifically, a knife from the kitchen. Isn't that right Hina?"

"Y-yeah," Hina said. "I noticed that a couple of days after Monokuma's motive, the knife was missing, and then it came back the day that Akira refused to leave her room."

"Could it be Akira then?" Yasuhiro asked. "Not suspecting her, it was just a thought."

"Not possible. Ibuki, Leon, Ayato, and I were checking on her every hour of that day," Byakuya said. "There is no way that she went and killed Sayaka."

"Gotchu dude," Yasuhiro said. "Also, sorry Akira."

Akira didn't say anything, she just nodded. All that was going on in her mind was that sooner or later she will have to confess about being attacked, on top of that, there is a strong possibility that everyone will be executed.

"Okay, so the murder weapon was a kitchen knife. But where does that get us?" Leon asked. "I mean, we all know Makoto killed her, right!?"

"That's r-right... Makoto's room was the s-scene of the crime." Toko said. "What more proof do you n-need?"

"H-Hold on a second!" Makoto said, trying to get everyone to hear him out. "I'm--!"

"Let's draw our conclusions _after_ we've presented our arguments," Kyoko said. "Otherwise, what's the point of the trial?"

"Well we can talk all we want, it's not gonna change _that_ conclusion," Leon said.

"It is still too early for accusations," Akira said. "Let's give Makoto a fair trial to justify himself."

"I'm sure if we keep at it, something new will reveal itself," Kyoko said.

"You really believe that?" Yasuhiro asked the two girls. "You two are honestly convinced that he is not the killer?"

"Why not?" Akira asked. "After all... there's still evidence we need to discuss."

"Like what?" Leon asked. "It is clear that Makoto grabbed the knife from the kitchen, lured Sayaka into his room, and then killed her."

"He probably did it in secret when nobody was in the d-dining hall," Toko said.

"And why would he do that?" Akira asked. "Are you gonna say that since they were close, she would trust him?"

"Exactly what I was gonna say," Leon said. "They were so close, she thought she could trust him, and then he killed her."

"That could be true," Akira said.

"Akira wait-" Makoto said. He was confused. Was Akira already siding with them after Leon gave his thoughts?

"But then again, Makoto deserves to explain himself. All he needs is an Alibi," Akira said. "What do you think, Hina?"

"Oh, yeah!" Hina said. "Sakura and I spent the entire day in the kitchen yesterday, well except the part where Monokuma called us all to the gym to meet the new students, but after that little meet, we went right back. I can assure you that Makoto wasn't in the kitchen at all."

"I'm sorry... Sakura is who, exactly?" Celestia asked. "No offense."

"None taken," Sakura said. Everyone turned towards her and nodded. "We were there until late. Enjoying a lovely tea, as it happens."

"So, you were in the kitchen after hours?" Monokuma asked. "That's against the rules!"

"This evidence could be useful for this trial," Akira said. "But the fact that they broke the rules doesn't matter right now."

"I was on edge, so Sakura was sweet enough to keep me company and try and calm my nerves," Hina said. "And you can't expect someone to not be hungry in the middle of the night!"

"Fine, fine," Monokuma said. "To make you quit your yappin', I will lift the rule about no entry in the Dining Hall after 10 pm, but if you don't want to be framed for murder, I suggest having a trusted person escort you, just pray they don't kill you. NOW HURRY UP WITH THIS TRIAL SO WE CAN EXECUTE THE KILLER!"

"Was the knife stolen when you two got back? Mondo asked.

"No, it got stolen after we returned," Sakura said.

"So you saw who stole the knife?" Chihiro asked. Hina and Sakura both nodded.

"Well, it was Makoto, right?" Leon asked.

"No, it was-" Hina tried to speak before Toko interrupted her.

"Well, maybe you both did it," Toko said. "If you teamed up... all you two have to do is keep your stories straight"

"Interrupting again," Monokuma said. "Please note that if two or more people team up to commit murder, only the actual killer is eligible for graduation. No exceptions."

"Yes, it is clearly stated in the rules," Byakuya said as he held out his digital notebook.

"I see," Celestia said. "In other words, no one stands to gain anything from opting to team up."

"Who took the knife, Hina?" Makoto asked. "When I asked the first time, you wouldn't tell me. And I know you talked to Byakuya and Akira because they both wouldn't tell me."

"He deserves to know now," Akira said.

"You don't mean..." Makoto mumbled.

"It was Sayaka," Hina said. "I don't know why, but it was definitely her."

"But... that doesn't make any sense," Makoto said. "Why would she take the knife?"

"I'm afraid there can be no doubt," Sakura said.

"At the time, it didn't strike me as weird or anything because she claimed she was getting a drink," Hina said.

"Nor I," Sakura said.

"So the victim procured the weapon that would then end her life!" Taka said.

"Of course," Makoto said. "But she could have wanted to use it for self-defense."

"So you're saying the knife she took...was then taken from her, and she was killed with it?" Byakuya asked

"That still doesn't clear you, Naegi!" Mondo yelled. "In that case, you may not have taken the knife, but you still could have killed her."

"See? There's murder written all over his face!" Toko yelled.

"Damn it, I told you it wasn't me!" Makoto yelled. "Don't you see? If you guys pin this on me, then we all get executed!"

"Ooh! En garde, everyone!" Hifumi yelled. "He's attempting to steer the debate in his favor! What a skilled manipulator you are!"

"That's enough you three," Akira said. "Kyoko and I are of the opinion that it is still too early to point the finger at Makoto."

"That is correct," Kyoko said. "There is still evidence we are not considering."

Everyone looked at Akira and Kyoko confused. Why are they sticking up for Makoto? The body was in his room so it had to have been him. Everyone already discovered that Sayaka took the knife to probably protect herself, but it is still unknown why she was in Makoto's room.

"What evidence?" Sakura asked.

"I submit to you all the state of the crime scene," Kyoko said. "Did the culprit appear to have easy access to the shower? I think not."

"Because you see, if the room did belong to the killer, then they did something most bewildering," Akira said. "And until we unravel that little mystery, you simply can't declare that he's the killer."

"What are you driving at?" Celestia asked.

"Even in an investigation, the small stuff always turns out to be extremely important," Kyoko said. "And with that, I noticed there was not a single strand of hair."

"So, the culprit removed some evidence?" Chihiro asked.

"Yes. And if I were the culprit, why would I need to get rid of all the hair in my own room?" Makoto asked. "It wouldn't be unusual at all to find my hair at the crime scene if the crime scene is in my room."

"Okay, then why wasn't there any hair on the ground?" Leon asked.

"It's quite simple actually," Akira said, she then looked at Kyoko since it seemed like Kyoko was leading the trial. This got some weight off Akira's shoulders because she could still wait before mentioning she was attacked by Sayaka. If she mentions it out of nowhere, people would then think that was her true motive. So, the less attention on her, the better.

"The killer got rid of it all, of course," Kyoko said. "To remove any trace that they had ever been there."

"Wait, then that means-" Mondo said. Without even needing to finish the sentence

"Precisely," Kyoko said. "It's simply beyond reason to believe that the room's owner and the killer is one and the same."

"Then...Makoto isn't the culprit?" Chihiro asked.

"Ding, ding, ding," Akira said. "Also, everyone knew that Makoto and Sayaka were close. That should be a well-known reason that proves Makoto's innocence. Why would he kill someone he spends every hour of every day with. He would have to be very good at lying if he were to kill her and pin it on someone else. But based on his goody-goody act, you know he is a terrible liar. No offense."

"None taken," Makoto said. "Besides, you guys helped take the false accusations off me as you promised."

"But are you sure we can decide something so important based solely on the absence of some hair!?" Taka asked.

"No. There are other reasons that prove Makoto couldn't have done it." Kyoko said.

"I would like to hear these reasons..." Sakura said.

"Do you remember anything remarkable about the bathroom at the scene?" Kyoko asked. "Sayaka was attacked in the main room first, then fled into the bathroom, right?"

"Yeah, then they ran after her, got into the bathroom, and stabbed her," Mondo said.

"And how did the killer get into the bathroom?" Kyoko asked. "Did they have any trouble with it?"

"What do you mean...?" Celestia asked.

"The doorknob to my shower was thrashed," Makoto said.

"In point of fact, it did look like it'd seen better days," Hifumi said.

"In trying to bypass the lock, they ended up nearly removing the entire doorknob," Kyoko said. "This is another most bewildering act for the room's owner. It proves Makoto is beyond suspicion."

"So what, you're saying he wouldn't break the door in his own room?" Leon asked. "But if the only choice you have is to break it, you break it! There's nothing "bewildering" about it!"

Seriously? What's up with him and Toko? Any time there is evidence that proves Makoto didn't kill Sayaka, they always backtrack everything back at Makoto.

"You still don't see it?" Kyoko asked. "Well, I guess I will have to repeat myself. The incident took place in Makoto's room. Sayaka was first attacked in the main room, she then fled into the bathroom."

"Then the killer ran after her... And they got into the bathroom." Mondo said.

"At that point, the killer had to try and bust down the door because Sayaka had locked it," Leon said.

"And finally, the culprit had Sayaka cornered..." Chihiro said. "And to finish the job, they stabbed her with the kitchen knife."

"It was y-you, wasn't it Makoto!?" Toko yelled. "A-Admit it! We already kn-know the answer!"

"Wait a minute..." Makoto mumbled. "My door doesn't have a lock."

"What are y-you going on about?" Toko asked

"The reason my bathroom didn't open wasn't because it was locked," Makoto said. "After all, the girls' rooms are the only ones with locking bathrooms, right?"

"Yes... Now that you mention it, that is true." Sakura said.

"I believe Makoto and I can speak on behalf of all the boys here, that there are no locks on the boy's bathroom doors," Ayato said. "Right, Monokuma"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Monokuma said.

"Then...why didn't your bathroom door open...?" Chihiro asked.

"Because it was stuck," Makoto said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Leon asked.

"My bathroom door doesn't fit the frame quite right," Makoto said. "Monokuma over there can testify to that."

"Yup! True as true can be!" Monokuma said. "But ya know...you're supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, right? But to have such a cruddy door. Puhuhu! That's not lucky at all!"

"So the reason the door didn't open was because it was stuck," Kyoko said. "But the killer didn't know that and assumed it was locked. So they tore apart the doorknob to get in."

"Therefore, if the murderer was Makoto, he would have walked in the bathroom with no problem since he and Sayaka were the only ones who knew about the wonky door," Akira said. "Excluding Monokuma, who would tell Makoto that fact."

"I guess that clears Makoto," Mondo said. "But that still gets us nowhere! We are back to square one!"

"Excuse me, Monokuma," A voice said from the back. It was the new student, Nagito Komaeda. "Correct me if I am wrong, but you know for sure who the killer is, right?"

"Well, indeed I do!" Monokuma said. "Otherwise, this wouldn't be a fair trial. I love bringing despair to everyone but I am all about fairness."

"I knew the other ultimate lucky student wasn't the killer!" Nagito said. "Don't lose hope my friends, for hope is stronger than despair!"

"Let us assume the murderer is someone else," Celestia said. "Where would they get the idea the door was locked? Were they not aware that the two had switched rooms? And why be there if they didn't?"

"That's the point," Kyoko said. "From the evidence that we have gathered, it is safe to assume the killer believed he or she was actually in Sayaka's room."

"So the killer was in the dark about the room swap?" Chihiro asked.

"Please, WE WERE ALL IN THE DARK ABOUT IT!" Toko yelled.

"None of this narrows down our list of suspects!" Mondo yelled.

"So? Then we put it to a majority vote," Taka said.

"That could work," Leon said.

"I mean...Our necks are on the line here!" Yasuhiro said. "Someone seriously needs to do something. For serious.! Either we put someone on the chopping block or we all get the ax."

"No need to throw our hands in the air, Yasuhiro, the devil is in the details," Celestia said. "I urge you all to focus."

"Now that I think about it... if Sayaka was freaked out just like Makoto said, how did the killer get in the room in the first place?" Hina asked. "She wouldn't have let him in."

"Was the lock picked?" Chihiro asked.

"Negative!" Taka said. "If you remember, Monokuma made it quite clear that the locks are all unpickable."

"Fine, how about this, the killer got in an easy way," Hifumi said. "They could've knocked and said they wanted to talk or something, and Miss Maizono just...let 'em in!"

"No, that can't be it, either," Makoto said. "As we said before, she was too scared to open the door."

"Ah... You certainly have the right to your opinion but... LOGIC!" Hifumi said. "I'd agree with you, except we'd both be wrong!"

"I know what I saw," Makoto said. Everyone started looking at him, confused. "When she came to me... she was practically in tears."

Akira rolled her eyes at what Makoto said. He was seriously buying what Sayaka was selling? She is a liar!

"I don't know about you, but I have a pretty hard time believing she'd answer the door after telling me she won't open it even if she knew it was me," Makoto said.

"Perhaps that was the idea," Akira mumbled. It was supposed to be under her breath, but everyone heard it. She felt everyone's eyes on her, she suddenly froze. She looked up and knew there was no coming back from it now. "Her terror could have been a ruse. She was quite an actress."

Everyone gasped at Akira's sudden remark. Within the week of knowing her, they never expected her to be straightforward with no emotion in her voice. But for Ayato, Byakuya, and Ibuki, this was nothing new.

"No," Makoto said. "She wouldn't lie to me! Sayaka and I were friends!"

"Watch your tone with my sister, you prick!" Ayato yelled. Everyone gasped at Ayato. "She is defending your ass, not the dead chic! Give her respect."

Everyone exchanged looks at each other, then back at the twins. It seems like they both have different sides that others don't see. Akira, who is usually happy, yet anti-social and keeps things to herself- is also someone who isn't afraid to speak their mind, but yet says it perfectly without any emotion. Then there is Ayato, he also is happy, and kind to others. He was usually known as the type of person who sweet-talks their way out of trouble. When people give insults to him, he takes it like it's nothing. But if someone starts insulting or does anything to Akira, he immediately becomes overprotective, despite him being the younger twin. Based on Byakuya and Ibuki's reactions, they both probably witnessed these outbursts before

"Calm down Ayato," Ibuki mumbled.

"You two, take a minute or two to gather your thoughts, then come back into the discussion," Byakuya said. "I understand this is stressful, but do not take this out on others."

"I agree with Akira," Kyoko said.

"What? Why?" Makoto asked.

"It is an unpleasant possibility to consider. But, I'm afraid, necessary. take a look at this" Kyoko said as she grabbed a piece of paper that was scribbled in pencil. It showed a letter that Sakaka wrote. "I found a notepad during my search, and I shaded in the top sheet with a pencil. And these are the words that appeared."

The note read: " _There's something I want to talk about in private. Please come to my room. Make sure to check the nameplate so you don't go to the wrong room by mistake. SAYAKA MAIZONO"_

"What's that supposed to be?" Makoto asked.

"It's an impression of a letter she wrote," Kyoko said. "I found it on the notepad in your room."

Makoto stared at the note for a bit.

"I'm sorry... are you trying to say it was you who wrote this?" Kyoko asked.

"No, it wasn't" Makoto mumbled.

"Of course not, I thought as much, As you can see, the signature is quite legible," Kyoko said. "It's a pretty old-fashioned technique, but even the classics can be surprisingly useful sometimes."

"I don't get it..." Makoto mumbled. Why would she-"

"I think she wrote this letter to get in touch with someone in secret," Kyoko said. "My personal guess, I believe the note was an intent to lure someone to their death."

"Was she seriously asking to get caught?" Ayato asked. "I mean, all these clues are coming to the conclusion she was gonna bring someone to their own demise! What if she was successful with that?"

Ibuki immediately slapped Ayato in the back of the head. Ayato growled.

"No one wants to hear from you, Ayato!" Ibuki said. Everyone could tell that Akira was trying to conceal something, but it is clear she is calmer than Ayato is, so she was allowed to speak.

"If you want to speak, Akira, then you must sugar coat what you are going to say," Byakuya said. "You don't want people to vote for you because of your built-up anger, right? So speak."

"I have nothing to say," Akira mumbled. "It's pretty obvious that Sayaka's killer who she met up with last night."

"But the note states to go to Sayaka's room," Celestia said. "So there we have it then, don't we? She wasn't in her room."

"Right," Chihiro said. "Whoever it was would have gotten to where Makoto was by mistake."

"Ah, but they wouldn't have," Kyoko said. "You see, Sayaka was clever."

"Really?" Celestia asked. "How so?"

"After she and Makoto switched rooms, she slipped out and swapped their nameplates," Kyoko said. "My digital notebook missed this entirely."

"So then she was luring someone into Makoto's room," Chihiro said.

"Well then, if memory serves, I believe the phrase tossed out a little earlier was 'luring someone to their death'," Byakuya said.

"Yes, seems so. And that's the only logical conclusion left," Kyoko said. "Of course, that points the finger away from Makoto."

"Finally," Makoto mumbled.

"Alright then... So who killed her?" Leon asked.

"To understand that...we first need to understand what happened after she invited the person into the room," Kyoko said. "That's where the answer lies..."

"What happened then was...probably... Whoever she invited over...came in, and...attacked her!" Taka said. "We figured it out! We know who did it! Whoever she invited over is the culprit!"

"But we still don't know who it is, ya goddamn idiot..." Mondo said.

"Wait, we are actually going with the idea that Sayaka swapped rooms with Makoto just to off someone?" Hina asked.

"Far from the worst of gambits," Byakuya said. "Once the deed was done, she'd have an out. All she had to was switch the nameplates back to pin it on you."

"She'd never do that!" Makoto yelled.

"Oh please, wake the hell up!" Akira yelled back. "What could she have possibly been up to if not that?"

"Her fatal misstep, of course, was inadvertently giving her prospective victim the opportunity to fight back," Byakuya said.

"They got the first strike in with that katana!" Yasuhiro said.

"No, that was used in self-defense," Celestia said.

"Yes, the damage to the sheath implies as much," Byakuya said. "Had things gone according to plan, Sayaka would be standing here right now, pointing the finger at Makoto."

"I trusted her," Makoto mumbled. "Why would she-"

"Why wouldn't she?" Celestia asked. "It was an ironclad way out of here, was it not?"

"If we omit the fact that it was a spectacular failure, yes," Byakuya said. "Poor fool."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Makoto yelled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You have a reason to defend her?" Byakuya asked.

"No, but still," Makoto said.

"Calm down," Kyoko said. "This isn't the time to argue. Focus."

"Yes, quite right," Celestia said. "The murderer is still at large, and time is short."

"Let's get to it then," Byakuya said. "It's one of us."

"Well, duh! But how the hell do we pick?" Yasuhiro asked.

"Ugh! We're all goners, I know it!" Toko yelled. "I'm too young to die! It's not fair!"

"We already know that Sayaka attacked first and then the killer used that katana as self-defense," Ayato said, already calmed down. "But where does that get us? Didn't we review everything that was there?"

"This is the last time I shall intervene," Monokuma said. "I see everyone is struggling so I will give everyone a small nudge. This is your first Class Trial so expect this to be the first and last time I will ever do it for you."

"You're telling us that there is another clue?" Celestia asked.

"Yes," Monokuma said. "In fact, there is still so much more you didn't uncover!"

"Well, spit it out already!" Mondo yelled.

"I already confirmed that I know who the true blackened is," Monokuma said. "But there is at least one other person besides the killer that knows that."

"Wait," Makoto said. "You're saying that someone here knows who killed Sayaka?"

"I wouldn't say this person completely knows," Monokuma said, "But the thought has come across their mind, and they are still in denial. Isn't that right... Akira?"

Everyone gasped and looked at Akira.

"If I am not mistaken, Akira has an idea who it is, but she is 100% not the blackened?" Chihiro asked.

"Correct! Akira is completely innocent," Monokuma said. "Although Akira has a lot to do with Sayaka's murder, I guess she didn't tell you all the details."

"I think it is about time you should tell them," Byakuya said.

"Wait, so you and Ibuki know something I don't?" Ayato asked. "For fuck sake, Akira. I am your brother!"

"Negative, Akira and I were talking yesterday, and Ibuki just so happened to overhear the conversation," Byakuya said.

"What happened, Akira?" Hina asked. Akira sighed and took a few seconds before answering.

"It's no doubt that Sayaka attacked first, I know for a fact that she has been planning this for a while," Akira mumbled.

"What do you mean, Akira?" Taka asked.

"Remember the day that I refused to leave my room?" Akira asked. "Well, the night before, Sayaka attacked me."

Everyone gasped.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Ayato asked.

"Because! I was fighting so many urges to fight back," Akira said. "I only had enough energy to kick her off and run out of the room."

"And by 'fighting back' Akira means that she had urges to kill Sayaka," Byakuya said. "She was worried that if something like that did happen, then you guys would stop trusting her."

"At least she didn't," Hina said. "All that matters is that Akira escaped safely, and she is definitely not the killer."

"Yes, but what about Ayato?" Celestia asked. "Surely after seeing his outburst when Makoto made a small comment to Akira, we can only imagine what he would do to a person if they physically hurt Akira."

"Believe anything you want, Celeste," Ayato said. "But I'm telling you that it definitely wasn't me."

"Of course it wasn't Ayato," Leon said. "Although he was in the dark about Akira getting attacked like the rest of us, he didn't have a set reason to kill Sayaka. Giving glares at a person doesn't mean anything."

"Ibuki agrees!" Ibuki said. "Fun fact about Ayato, his ears turn red when he lies. He is good at creating lies because people never pay attention to his ears!"

"Keep that in mind, Ayato can lie very well but pay attention to his ears," Byakuya said. "Though, everyone knows that fact now, it is useless for Ayato to lie or do anything that will involve him to lie."

"Back to important topics!" Taka yelled. "Akira, you said you have an idea on who you think the blackened is? We all must know!"

"Well, it is a list of people that Byakuya made a couple of days ago," Akira said. "Byakuya is never wrong so I trusted his instincts."

"Well, what are the names?" Mondo asked.

"Please don't be mad, these are just guesses. I am sure the list will update later," Akira said as Byakuya handed her the paper and read it. "Mondo Owada, Junko Enoshima, Toko Fukawa, Sakura Ogami, Sayaka Maizono, and Leon Kuwata."

"Well we can mark two people off the list then," Leon said. "Sayaka and Junko since the two are dead."

"That was a list of who would most likely betray us," Akira said. "Sayaka planned to, but she got killed."

"Leon, you seem totally unphased that Byakuya and Akira suspect you," Kyoko said.

"I saw the list the other day," Leon said. "I'm aware of it,"

"You saw the list already?" Celeste asked. "When was this?"

"Well, I believe it was the first day when we got here," Leon said. "I was walking around the dormitory and I overheard Byakuya, Akira, and Ayato talking about the possibility that someone might betray us. I asked them about it, and they told me that any information they find is strictly confidential, which of course is understandable. If one of us is the mastermind, sharing information like that is a high risk since Monokuma already knew they were onto him. So a few days after Ibuki came along, I was finally able to ask them about their suspect list without asking for further information."

"That's true," Ayato said.

"Alright, this list was indeed useful," Kyoko said. "This will make it easier to figure out who killed Sayaka."

"Sure, the list gives us suggestions, but is there actually anything more to go on?" Leon asked.

"I got it!" Makoto said. Everyone looked at him.

"Huh?" Leon asked. "What the hell are we missing then?"

"Something pretty big actually," Makoto said. "Sayaka's dying message."

"What?" Leon asked. "What are you driving at?"

"She left a dying message," Kyoko said. "One scrawled in blood on the wall behind her. 11037"

"That's right!" Yasuhiro said. "But what did it say?"

"Yeah, I noticed it too," Akira mumbled.

"And that's also when Akira realized who the killer was," Monokuma said. Akira glared at him. Yes, she did think of who the killer was, but she wasn't totally sure that it was _that person._

"You mean that crazy string of numbers?" Hina asked.

"Hey, you're supposed to be some kinda crazy genius with numbers, ain't you?" Mondo asked Chihiro. "The one she left behind mean anything special or what?"

"I tried every decryption trick in the book, but whatever they're supposed to mean... it's not a code I know," Chihiro said. "I'm sorry."

If the message isn't a code, then what is it? When the situation took a turn, Sayaka ran for the shower, but the killer forced their way in. Did they already have the knife?

"Oh my gosh..." Akira and Makoto mumbled in unison. Everyone looked at them.

"The message wasn't a string of numbers!" Makoto said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Mondo asked.

"Maizono wrote out her killer's name," Akira said.

"What?" Mondo asked. "How do you know that?"

"If you flip those numbers round hundred-eighty degrees," Makoto said. "There you have it, plain as day L-E-O-N."

Everyone gasped.

"What do you know... that's your name, isn't it?" Makoto asked. "Leon Kuwata."

"Leon, what did you do?" Akira asked. She couldn't believe that it was him. Suddenly, everything came back and it all made sense. Leon was shaken up, not because Sayaka attacked him, but because he killed her out of self-defense. He admitted to breaking her wrist and she ran into the bathroom, but he said he ran away. "Come on... you didn't kill her! All of this is a fucking set up, right? She attacked you and you ran away just like you said, right?"

"So, Leon, if you got anything to say... now's the time," Makoto said.

"What the hell are you talking about!? I-It's just a coincidence!" Leon yelled. "It's just a bunch of random squiggles that happen to look like my name!"

"She wrote that message on the wall behind her as she was leaning up against it," Kyoko said. "In that position, she couldn't move to write normally and had to write upside down, as it were. And as a result... When you look at it standing in front of her, it ends up getting flipped. Try it for yourself, if you want. Write something sitting like her, and the letters will be inverted."

"Th-That sounds like one hell of a stretch to me...!" Leon said. "I'm the killer!? You can't just go and say shit like that! Everything you've got is circumstantial!"

"E-exactly!" Akira said. "Leon visited me and Ibuki after he was attacked by Sayaka! Ayato and Byakuya were in the hall during that time, and neither of them said they saw Leon leave Sayaka's room or whatever."

"That is true," Ayato said. "We were all in Akira's dorm. Byakuya needed to get something from his room, so I offered to go with him. The four of us made a rule that we would escort each other if we needed to walk around during night time. For example, we spend a couple of hours after Monokuma's night time announcement in either Byakuya's dorm or Akira's dorm. Ibuki's dorm is farther down the hall than the rest of us so Akira stands in her door-way and watches Byakuya and I walk Ibuki to her dorm, then we walk back. Last night, I walked Byakuya to his dorm to help him look for something, and he told me to just go back to Akira's dorm, when I did, Leon was already in Akira's dorm with her and Ibuki. Byakuya walked back into Akira's dorm almost immediately after I walked in."

"So you are saying in the time you guys were in the hall, you didn't see Leon?" Celestia asked.

"Of course, the hall was completely cleared," Byakuya said.

"Alright, let's assume Leon isn't the killer," Kyoko said. "Leon, care to explain why you tried to destroy evidence?"

"Huh?" Leon asked, surprised.

"What is she talking about, Leon?" Akira asked. "Answer me!"

"I don't know what she is talking about!" Leon said. Kyoko was scary because she knew everything, and she would call you out on your lie before you could even think of one. But Akira... as approachable as she is, it's hard to figure out if she is scarier than Kyoko or they are equally scary. Either way, those two are so scary, Mondo is shaking in his boots.

"Someone explain this," Taka said.

"I found a burnt shirt piece laying on the ground by the incinerator," Makoto said. "There were also some broken glass ball fragments."

"Right! I'd forgotten all about those," Hifumi said.

"Y'know, come to think of it, I haven't seen my crystal ball in a while," Yasuhiro said. "Do you think that's what happened to it?"

"As the killer stabbed Sayaka, they must have gotten some of her blood on them," Kyoko said. "And to dispose of the shirt covered in the victim's blood, they threw it into the incinerator."

"But one piece burned off and got left behind..." Chihiro said.

"And the killer didn't notice, If they had, they most certainly would have panicked," Kyoko said. "Isn't that right, Leon?"

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh--!?" Leon stuttered.

"But is one scrap of fabric enough to conclude that Leon is guilty?" Sakura asked.

'Yeah... I mean, Leon's not the only one wearing a white button-up..." Chihiro mumbled.

"Th-That's right! There are plenty of other people here with shirts like mine!" Leon said. "With just that one little charred piece, there's no way you can say for sure who it belongs to!"

"You're right. That alone isn't enough," Makoto said. "But there are some other points that may reveal the truth..."

"I swear to god, Leon," Akira mumbled. She had a feeling it was him, but she wanted to deny it.

"If we look closely at how the shirt was disposed of, we should be able to figure out who the killer is," Makoto said.

"Explain," Akira said.

"Sayaka's killer was in over his head. He hadn't planned on murdering anyone that night; the evidence had to be dealt with fast," Makoto said. "Unfortunately, the garbage room was on lockdown. This is where Yasuhiro's missing glass ball comes in. Activating the incinerator from the other side of the gate would be near impossible for almost anyone. But our culprit had mad skills. Specifically, Super High School Level Baseball Player skills. All finished, our perp figured he could chill, walk back to his room like nothing had happened. That, as it turns out, was his big mistake... A scrap of the burning bloodstained shirt sleeve fell out."

Lots of thoughts were going through Akira's mind. She helped Makoto because she didn't want anyone to die. But now that she knows the killer is- no... the killer was her friend, Leon Kuwata... She'd rather not know about it. Maybe if she could get the chance to go back in time, she would have never talked to Leon if she knew this would happen. Things would be better off if none of this ever happened. But sadly it did, and they all have to deal with it because there is no turning back.

"He thought he had improvised the perfect crime, when in fact he'd left a trail leading us right to him," Makoto said. "Deny if you want, that's how it went."

Leon stood there, silently.

"You stand accused," Kyoko said. "Now'd be the time to object."

"Object? Hah. Yeah... Let me think about that," Leon said. "Hell yes, I object! Of course, I do! I object I object, I object! I mean, all of this is just a bunch of stupid theories! You need evidence! Where's the evidence!? Without evidence, it's all bullshit! It's bullshit and I refuse to acknowledge it!"

"Leon, shut your trap!" Ayato yelled. "Makoto didn't get overly defensive when he was falsely accused, then why are you?"

"Yeah, dude. Totally not Rock n' Roll of you," Ibuki said. "Despite the evidence, you are over exaggerating and it makes you seem even more suspicious."

"Leon, calm down!" Akira said. "If you are not the killer then just hurry up and say it!"

"He is the only one with the athletic chops to throw Yasuhiro's glass ball far enough and hard enough to hit the incinerator switch and you know it, Leon!" Makoto yelled.

"Yeah! Nice try but screw you!" Leon yelled. "What about Hifumi Yamada? He's on trash detail! He could have unlocked the gate!"

"Which is exactly why he wouldn't have needed to use the ball; he would've just used his access key and walked off without any of us having a clue," Makoto said.

"Ha-ha! Yeah, big man, tryin' to trick me into fessin' up!" Leon yelled. "But, as I said, it's all circumstantial!"

"Maybe. But there's still one vital piece of evidence that points directly at you." Makoto said

"What, are you gonna make something up now?!" Leon asked.

"The bathroom... The doorknob," Makoto said. "The screws were removed."

"Who gives a flying rat's ass?!" Leon yelled.

"When the killer removed the screws from the doorknob, they didn't use anything from Makoto's room to do it," Kyoko said. "Instead, they must have used something that belonged to them."

"I refuse to acknowledge you! You're stupid! Stupid stupid stupid!" Leon yelled. "Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!!!"

"The screws on the bathroom doorknob were removed," Makoto said. "I wonder what kind of tool the killer used to remove them..."

"I mean...it had to be a screwdriver, right?" Mondo asked.

"Oh yeah," Yasuhiro said. "I'm pretty sure the tool-kits we got each had one inside."

"Then that must be what he used," Hifumi said. "There aren't any other tools anywhere."

"But the toolkit in my room had clearly never been used..." Makoto said.

"That's because the culprit didn't know it was your room," Taka said. "They thought they were in Sayaka's room!"

"Only the boys got tool-kits," Chihiro said. "So the killer naturally assumed there wouldn't be one in there..."

"Okay, then whose toolkit did the killer use?" Makoto asked as he looked at Leon.

"Whatever you're driving at, jerkwad, you are barking up the wrong tree!" Leon yelled.

"C'mon, there has gotta be something that proves Leon isn't the killer," Akira said, still in denial. "Leon! If you're not the killer, then calm the fuck down and say it! Think logically instead of screaming meaningless shit!"

"Well if what I'm driving at is on the money, there will be proof in his toolkit," Makoto said. "How about you give us a look?"

"NEVER-NEVER-NEVER-NEVER-NEVER-NEVER-NEVER-NEVER!" Leon yelled. "This is a sham! I'm warning you, dude! Back off!"

"You're guilty, Leon Kuwata!" Makoto said. "I demand you show us your toolkit."

Leon stood, almost defeated. Akira tried to help him, in hopes that the possibility of him being innocent was still there. But there was nothing she could do.

"Come on. What's the big deal?" Makoto asked. "What have you got to hide?"

"Bear in mind, if it's been used, prepare to explain exactly when, where, and why..." Byakuya said. "In minute detail and 'til every last one of us is satisfied."

"And under the circumstances, let me make myself clear," Kyoko said. "Saying 'I lost it' isn't an excuse at this point."

Leon stood in silence. There was nothing he could say that would help him.

"So, you have no rebuttal?" Byakuya asked.

"Then it would seem...we are finished here," Celestia said.

"Well, I'd say, you all have hashed this out nicely, major kudos!" Monokuma said. "Let's move on to Voting Time. Kindly lock in your votes by pressing the switches there in front of you. So, who is the guilty so-and-so? Do you feel good about your final choice?"

Everyone started voting, afraid that they got the wrong answer and they all get executed.

"Correct! Well done peeps!" Monokuma cheered. "Sayaka Maizono's murder was indeed... Leon Kuwata!"

Everyone stood there. Frozen in fear. They are glad that they didn't die, but they risked their friend's life.

"Dude..." Ayato and Ibuki said in unison.

"Leon... you can't be serious..." Akira mumbled.

"H-hold on, wait-" Leon tried to speak.

"Leon..." Makoto mumbled. "Leon, did you really...kill Sayaka?"

"I don't believe it..." Hina mumbled.

"Son of a bitch...! Fuckin' dumbass, what the hell got into you?!" Mondo yelled at Leon. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"I- I didn't want to..." Leon mumbled. His voice was shaky, and his head was low, eyes facing the floor. "She was... I mean- she was trying to kill me, you know? I just... I didn't know what else to do okay? WHAT IF SHE'D DONE AFTER YOU? YOU ALL WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING IN MY SHOES!"

Leon dropped to the floor and started sobbing. Everyone else started feeling bad. Leon never wanted to kill anyone. He didn't mean any harm, but in the real world... murder is murder and there are consequences. But without the police, who would do that? A fucking stuffed bear? Akira looked at Leon, who was still sobbing on the floor. She then kneeled down to his level.

"Hey, hey," Akira said in a soft voice. "Leon, look at me."

Leon turned around and looked at Akira with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Leon choked out. "I didn't want to do it."

"I know," Akira said. "But why didn't you tell me? And most importantly, why did you go after I told you not to?"

"I- I was scared. Just like you were when Sayaka attacked you. I didn't want you guys to hate me," Leon said.

"This is not your fault, Leon," Makoto said.

"Are you sure, Makoto?" Celestia asked. "He had many chances to stop what he was doing. But he chose not to. You were closer to her more than anyone, were you not? He killed your precious Sayaka. Do you understand?"

"I can't say Leon is solely to blame," Makoto said. "Of course, I don't plan on blaming Sayaka, either. Because... Because the one to blame...is Monokuma!

"S'waaah!?" Monokuma acted surprised.

"If it weren't for you, this never would have happened to Sayaka OR Leon," Makoto said. "We shouldn't be fighting each other... We should be fighting against the one who put us in this situation! The mastermind!"

"That is correct!" Taka said. "You put the murderous thoughts in our heads. Both Sayaka and Leon panicked. You can't punish us for your wrong-doing!"

Ayato and Ibuki walked towards Akira and Leon, trying to help calm the boy down. Leon kept mumbling and chanting "I'm sorry", which you can barely hear over the yelling of the other students.

"Sure, it was a shitty thing to do, but you didn't have a choice," Ayato said. "It doesn't matter what you did, you are and will always be our friend."

"But why did you lie, knowing we would all get executed... and you would leave?" Ibuki asked. "Surely, there has to be a reason for it."

"You guys... You have been so kind to me," Leon said. "So I thought I would be able to help find a way to get us all out of here. But then Sayaka attacked me... I didn't know what else to do... I accidentally broke her wrist and she ran into the bathroom. I just wanted to talk to her... I-"

"Right, so there you have it!" Monokuma said. "Excellent job dispensing tough justice, and I mean that... Moving onto the punishment phase!"

"Please no! I didn't have much of a choice!" Leon said. "The crazy skank was gonna kill me, what was I supposed to do?"

"Rules are rules buddy," Monokuma said. "Too bad, so sad."

"This isn't right!" Ibuki yelled.

"What do you mean 'Right'?" Monokuma asked. "Right doesn't enter into it, sweetheart. He killed and got caught. Which means he dies."

"You can't do that!" Ayato yelled. "This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for that bloodthirsty psycho!"

"Yeah!" Ibuki yelled. "You should have intervened if you knew she attacked Akira and didn't get away with it!"

"Exactly, Sayaka made the mistake of leaving a note for Akira to meet up while Ibuki and I were in the room," Byakuya said. "Leon received the same letter, but Akira told him not to go. If Sayaka actually killed Akira, there would be four people pinning the blame on her, plain and simple."

"Y'know I was thinking what would have happened if she did kill me," Akira said. "Think about it, she would be so desperate to blame someone without knowing that four people know about my whereabouts. And all of that just to get a reaction out of Makoto."

"Akira, you can't say things like that so casually," Ayato said.

"What do you mean... 'Get a reaction out of me'?" Makoto asked.

"She really trusted you Makoto. But as I said the day Monokuma gave us our motives... Whoever killed first is selfish. We are all trying to get out, so there is no point in the killing," Akira said. "I'm not dead yet, but Sayaka drew first blood. Now the killing game has officially begun all thanks to her."

"That is correct!" Monokuma said. "I saw it all, Sayaka stabbed Akira! Anyway, this trial is dragging on longer than I expected. Are you ready for your punishment Leon?"

Leon tried to say calm, but you can tell by the look in his eyes, he was petrified.

"You four, come here," Leon mumbled so only the four of them heard it. They gathered around Leon to see what he took from his pocket. It was his room key. He handed it to Akira. "During the investigation, Ayato and Ibuki and I searching around some classrooms, and in one of the drawers in a teacher's desk, we found some documents that may be useful. They are in my room."

"We shall meet in another life my good friend, and next time we meet, Ibuki will definitely teach you some music," Ibuki said in an attempt to make Leon laugh one last time. It doesn't matter how intense the situation is, they just want to see their friend laugh and smile one last time. And he did.

"For the all-star athlete, Leon Kuwata, whose talents behind the plate certainly held more promise than a lady killer... I've come up with a very special method of execution... Play Ball!" Monokuma said. "Let's give it everything we got, It's... Punishment time!"

Monokuma pressed a red button to start up the execution process. A small screen next to the chair he was sitting in turned on. The screen said: GAME OVER... Kuwata was voted guilty- Time For His Punishment!"

At this point, Leon was totally fucked. There was nothing they could do to save him. And worst of all, they were forced to sit through his execution. All of a sudden, Leon was grabbed at the neck by some chain and dragged out of the courtroom. The big screens around the room played a video that was obviously recorded in real-time. It was Leon, he was tied up on a pole and was locked inside of a batting cage. A pitching machine appeared before him, and Monokuma filled it up with about 1000 baseballs. One by one, the baseballs shot out hitting him in his knees, moving up to his face, back to his knees. Slowly the machine started shooting multiple baseballs at once. His execution was kinda like Senbon Nokku, which is a Japanese training method where players catch the balls thrown at them until they collapse from exhaustion, but in Leon's case... until he dies.

Akira stared in horror as she saw her friend's lifeless body in front of her. The air grew thick as she tried to grasp at the situation. Monokuma wasn't playing around.

"Woohoo! Extreeeeeeemmmmmeeeee!" Monokuma cheered. "Man, my adrenaline is pumping right outta control!"

"Uwah...! Uwaaaaaahhh!" Hifumi panicked.

"Wh-Wh-What's going o-on!?" Toko yelled.

"I-I can't take this anymore...!" Chihiro cried. "Do we really have to keep doing this? I just can't take it!"

"Well hey, if you don't like it..." Monokuma said. "you gotta do is swear to cut all ties with the outside world and accept living here forever! But that's only if every single one of you can get on board with that. Puhuhuhu... Waahahahaha! Bwaahahaha!"

"Man, fuck you..." Mondo growled. "Why the fuck are you going all this evil shit to us!?"

"Evil!? You make it sound like I'm some dark, awful, secret society type of guy!" Monokuma said. "Or in this case, a dark, awful, secret society type of BEAR! Also... Akira. What was that thing that Leon gave you earlier?"

Akira quickly dug in her pocket and held tightly onto the key. It was one of the only things she had left of her friend and she wasn't giving it up.

"Mind your business, Stupid bear," Akira said as she walked off. "I'll be in my room."

"Ohh, did you three really have to deal with that when you were younger?" Monokuma laughed. "So feisty!"

Makoto started trembling with anger. All that built-up anger from the class trial, and watching a peer get executed.

"There, there, Makoto. It's alright. I know," Monokuma said, obviously not feeling bad for the boy and everyone else who witnessed their friend's murder.

"Know what? What are you talking about?" Makoto asked.

"Don't be like that," Monokuma said. "Maizono sold you up the river. You're hurting, it's fine."

"Screw you!" Makoto yelled. "You did this... It was all your fault from beginning to end!"

Makoto was about to charge at Monokuma, but before he could, someone grabbed his arm. Kyoko.

"Don't, Makoto... Don't lose it," Kyoko said. "Think about this... you'll never avenge Sayaka if you get killed too."

"Damn it!" Makoto growled. "Damn it all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after the Class Trial, Akira, Byakuya, Ibuki, and Ayato were standing in the dormitory hall by Makoto's dorm.

"Do we really have to?" Ayato asked.

"Yes, both of you do," Byakuya said. "Your behavior at the class trial today was unacceptable."

"Akira, you should know better than anyone how Makoto feels. You don't let people in immediately, so Leon must have done something that made you think of him as a friend in less than a week," Ibuki said. "Both, you and Makoto lost someone special to you, so you should definitely say something."

"Fine," Akira mumbled.

"Great, we will be in the Dining Hall by the time you're done!" Ibuki smiled as she and Byakuya walked off.

Akira sighed and knocked on Makoto's door. A few seconds after she knocked, the door opened.

"Oh, hey guys," Makoto said. "What's up?"

"We uh..." Akira mumbled. In certain situations, she loved being right, but when it came down to the class trial, she hated it so much. "We wanted to apologize for how we treated you at the trial."

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked. "You saved me and everyone else from getting executed... but that meant you had to find out Leon was the killer..."

"Akira wouldn't tell me or anyone else that Sayaka attacked her, and it made me worried," Ayato said. "I understand why you refused to believe it. I am sorry for calling you a prick... and bad-mouthing Sayaka."

"I'm sorry too," Akira said. She then started to tear up. "I knew Leon killed Sayaka and I didn't say anything. He visited us four last night and told us what happened. I didn't mean to risk everyone getting killed... I thought that if I could somehow protect Leon and everyone else from dying, then maybe we all could have gotten out!"

"Hey, Akira. It's okay," Makoto said. "I get it. It hurts to know something is happening and you can't stop it. We both lost someone special today. And we are all gonna get through this together. You said that in the beginning, right?"

"Y-yeah... I guess," Akira said.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" A voice said behind them, they both looked, it was Kyoko. "I just wanted to talk to Naegi for a minute."

"Oh, we were just leaving," Akira said. "See you guys later."

Makoto smiled as he watched the twins walk out of the room.

"What did you want to talk about?" Makoto asked.

"I know that now's probably not the best time," Kyoko said. "But I figured it was important for you to hear it."

"It's about her, isn't it?" Makoto asked. "Sayaka?"

"Yeah," Kyoko said. Makoto sighed. Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be Leon? Why did any of this have to happen? "I'll be frank, it may be undeniable that Maizono meant to frame you for murder... The facts paint too clear a picture... That said, what do you imagine her dying thoughts were?"

"How the hell should I know?" Makoto asked. His heart hurt, His voice cracked. The thought of Sayaka was not just happy memories, but the last time he ever saw her face, she was dead.

"Naegi, I'm serious," Kyoko said. "You knew her well enough to speculate... Personally, I believe her last thoughts were of how to save you. I think we can surmise that's what she wanted in the end. Why else leave the message, correct? She certainly didn't have to."

"Yeah, nice try," Makoto mumbled. "I wish I could believe that, but all she really wanted was to make sure Leon paid for killing her."

"I beg to differ," Kyoko said. "In fact, she never meant to hurt you. She wasn't a killer, nor was she comfortable with deceiving you. Sadly, she hesitated when she ought to have been bold and wound up dead... Rather a high price to pay."

"So... Why are you telling me this?" Makoto asked.

"I had the same conversation with Akira earlier," Kyoko said. "You two are strong... You both can push through this intact. Resilience is a rare quality in people; I sense it in you, Naegi. Of course, there's always the chance I'm reading too much into things. But for your sake, I hope I'm not."

"You expect me to just 'push through' the death of a friend?" Makoto asked. "If that's what you're talking about, then I'm not your guy. When someone I care about dies, I don't move on. I carry it with me... Forever... It's who I am... Sayaka and Leon's deaths... I'm not sweeping them under the rug. I'm not the type who just forgets. If I get out of here, I'll still be haunted by them! I'll always look back!"

"How noble..." Kyoko said. "A difficult path, but noble. Still, though, I have hope."

Makoto smiled.

"So... While I'm here, and it may be silly to ask..." Kyoko said. "How did you know I came in to speak with you about Maizono?"

"Oh, I can read your mind," Makoto smiled. He remembered those times Sayaka would joke around and tell him she could read his mind.

"Wait, really?" Kyoko asked.

"Just kidding, intuition." Makoto giggled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STATUS: 21/24 STUDENTS ALIVE 3 STUDENTS DEAD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


End file.
